In partnership with:
Tri-City
Performance, Polaris, the
The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after
the date and time it’s issued, but will be updated Saturday April 7, 2007.
Sunday, April 8th will be the last of our
regularly scheduled advisories for the season.
Good Morning! This is Craig
Gordon with the
This
advisory covers the terrain from Daniels Summit, to
Current Conditions:
High clouds developed overnight ahead of a weak
weather disturbance moving our way and temperatures remained relatively mild. Currently
it’s right around freezing at both the ridge top and trailhead elevations. Winds
are light and southwesterly, blowing 10-15 mph at most locations, though along
the highest peaks they’re in the 15-25 mph range. You can still find patches of
soft snow on protected upper elevation slopes, but Monday’s wind event nuked
the vast majority of good terrain. The
snow is going fast, especially at lower elevations and I thought yesterday was
going to be a bust as I watched sparks flying off my scratchers while weaving a
path through alternating patches of white snow and black pavement. If you’re
willing to endure some miserable conditions down low, you can still enjoy
pretty good riding up high. With a go-just-about-anywhere kind of base, corn
snow or peak bagging might be a more reliable bet.
Avalanche Conditions:
As far as avalanche conditions
go, right now it’s a tale of two snowpacks. At the upper elevations the snow
remains cold and yesterday I was amazed at how much snow got blown around
during Monday’s strong wind
event. Ted and I stomped around along
At lower and mid elevations
and on steep sun-exposed slopes, the biggest avalanche concern is the
possibility of triggering wet
avalanches. By now you know the drill- as the snow becomes damp and gloppy avoid being on or underneath steep sunny slopes,
especially during the heat of the day. Remember- this type of slide is usually
slow moving, but can pile up huge amounts of debris in terrain
traps such as gullies or steep road cuts.
Bottom Line:
On most slopes throughout
the range the avalanche danger is generally LOW this morning, rising to MODERATE on
steep sun-exposed slopes during the heat of the day. A MODERATE avalanche danger means human triggered avalanche are
possible.
Wind drifted slopes above
tree-line, especially those steeper than about 35 degrees, have pockets of MODERATE
avalanche danger. Human triggered dry snow avalanches are possible particularly
on north, northeast and east facing slopes.
Mountain Weather:
A weak storm system will brush by the region tonight
and clouds will increase throughout the day ahead of this weak feature. We
might see a passing snow flurry or two before high pressure quickly rebounds
for the rest of the week. It’ll remain mild with highs today reaching into the low
to mid 50’s at 8,000’ and near 42 degrees at 10,000’. Overnight lows will be in
the upper 20’s. Winds remain light and westerly, switching to the northwest
later tonight and may gust into the low 30’s along the ridges as the cold front
swings through. Sunny skies, light winds and warming temperatures are on tap
for Thursday through Sunday.
Announcements:
I completed a
preliminary investigation on the avalanche accident that occurred on Saturday
Feb.17th in
We removed the
I’d like to thank Jim Shea, The Canyons and Colleen
Graham from the Friends of the UAC for all their hard work in making the Know
Before You Go fundraiser such a success!
The first annual western Uinta fundraising ride was
an amazing success with nearly 150 people showing up for the ride alone!
I want to thank the Jim Shea Family Foundation,
Rocky Mountain Sledders, the Wasatch Snowmobile Association and the Utah
Snowmobile Association for all their tireless work in putting the event
together. Thanks again to Team Thunderstruck and the Boondockers
crew for helping out and schooling even the most experienced riders. Also, we
couldn’t have pulled it off if it weren’t for Chad Booth who did an incredible
job as both master of ceremonies and auctioneer. Finally, it wouldn’t have been
possible without the support of everyone who attended… you folks are
awesome!
I want to thank the crew at Tri-City Performance in
Springville along with Polaris and the Utah Snowmobile Association for
partnering with the avalanche center and stepping up to the plate by providing
a new sled for this season! Click
here, to
see the new
ride!
We installed Beacon Basin at the Noblett’s
Trailhead and it’s good to go. I want to thank Doug, Bill, Jared, Brad and
Wally who
unselfishly took time out of their powder day to
help out the riding community… you guys rock!
Free avalanche awareness classes are available. Give
me a call at 801-231-2170 or email [email protected]
and get one scheduled before the season gets too crazy!
If any terms confuse you, take a look at our new avalanche encyclopedia.
For
avalanche photos click here.
General Information:
The information in this advisory is from the U.S.
Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory
describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.
I’ll update this advisory by 7:00 am on Saturday
April 7, 2007.
This advisory is also available by calling
1-800-648-7433 or
1-888-999-4019.
.