Western Uintas Advisory April 20, 2008 - 7:11 am Good morning, this is Craig Gordon with the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center Current Conditions Lots of snow remains at mid and upper elevations where the snowpack averages about 110% of normal. Temperatures remain cold and great powder riding can still be found on high elevation, north facing slopes. While we’ve ended our regularly scheduled avalanche advisories for the season, of course that doesn’t mean that there won’t be any more avalanches. In fact, spring snowstorms are quite common in Utah and it’s not unusual for the mountains to receive significant snowfall well into the month of June. Dry, new snow avalanches frequently occur during and right after a storm, but with warm temperatures and strong sunshine, it doesn’t take long for the snow to heat up, increasing the chance of wet avalanches. While our snowpack strengthened significantly since the beginning of the season, should it experience several nights without a good solid refreeze, deep wet slab avalanches will be possible, especially in steep, rocky terrain. Also, cornices are large, tender and unpredictable, breaking back further than you might expect, so as temperatures rise you’ll want to steer clear of these monsters. Recent Avalanche Activity Click here for recent pics and pits. I’ve posted my initial accident report on the Smith Basin New Year’s Eve avalanche accident. Click here for details. Thanks to Wasatch County Search and Rescue for all the help getting to the accident site. I’ve also posted an accident report detailing the Christmas Day, Super Bowl avalanche accident. It can be found here. Avalanche Concerns In the absence of my avalanche advisory here are a few pointers to help you make your own snowpack and avalanche danger evaluations. In general you can count on several types of avalanche conditions in the spring. Whenever we get a storm the avalanche danger will rise, as the new snow might not bond well to the existing hard, slick crust it falls on. As always, recent avalanche activity as well as cracking and collapsing of the snowpack are dead giveaways the snow is unstable. Even if these clues don’t present themselves, be sure to do some tests on smaller slopes that are similar in aspect, elevation and slope angle to what you want to ride on. Choose test slopes that have minimal consequences, especially after a significant snowfall. A well placed slope cut will give you a good feel for the stability of the slope. If there is much wind associated with the storm or if there is snow available for transport before it gets cooked into place, expect to find potentially unstable wind slabs on leeward slopes. You know the drill- be flexible with your travel plans, gather as much snow information as you can snow and keep in mind; slopes of all aspect and elevation need to be re-evaluated throughout the day. When the sun first comes out and the snow goes through its initial rapid warm up, avalanches will be likely on steep slopes. You can expect the usual round of wet slides and occasional wet slabs, but fortunately new snow instabilities tend to stabilize rather quickly in the spring due to the warm temperatures. As usual, you’ll want to get off of and out from underneath steep slopes during the heat of the day and avoid terrain traps such as gullies or steep road cuts. Bottom Line Mountain Weather Use the links provided to help assist you in your own weather forecast endeavors. 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.