Uintas Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Craig Gordon

AVALANCHE WARNING »

Dangerous avalanche conditions are occuring or are imminent. Backcountry travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended.
Notice:

An Avalanche Warning remains in effect for the western Uinta Mountains. Recent heavy, dense snow and accumulating water weights severely taxed an inherently weak and unstable snowpack. Large, dangerous and possibly deadly human triggered avalanches are likely on steep, mid and upper elevation slopes, especially those facing the north half of the compass.


SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

  Our third annual Avalanche Center fundraising ride is Saturday February 7th. Click here for more details.

 


BOTTOM LINE

Danger by aspect and elevation on slopes approaching 35° or steeper.
(click HERE for tomorrow's danger rating)


Danger Rose Tutorial

At and above treeline the avalanche danger is HIGH today for triggering new snow avalanches and for deep, dangerous avalanches which break into old snow near the ground. Human triggered avalanches are likely on slopes steeper than 35 degrees. Dangerous avalanche conditions exist on steep slopes facing northwest, north, northeast, east and southeast especially those that are rocky with a shallow, weak underlying snowpack.

 

Mid elevations have a  CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger on slopes steeper than 35 degrees and human triggered avalanches are probable.

Low elevation slopes facing the south half of the compass generally have a LOW avalanche danger.

 

 


CURRENT CONDITIONS

 

 

A series of storms on a moist southwest flow slammed the western Uinta’s in recent days. Yesterday’s system rapidly piled up new snow at rates of 2” per hour, adding another foot of new snow in the past 24 hours.  Since the morning of Jan.22nd we’ve received close to 30” of snow at the upper elevations with just over 3” of water, essentially doubling our snowpack in four days. This morning, winds are light, out of the west-northwest blowing less than 15 mph with a few gusts in the 20’s along the high peaks. Temperatures have been cooling overnight and are currently in the mid teens at 10,000’and near 20 degrees at 8,000’.

 

 


RECENT ACTIVITY

 

Due to poor visibility there's no new activity to report.

For recent accident reports click here

For more photos of recent avalanche activity click here

 


THREAT #1

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

 

The deeper instabilities in our snowpack are cringing at the amount of water and storm snow weight added in a rapid amount of time and I’d suspect the region is experiencing a significant natural avalanche cycle. While the snow we’re riding in might seem light, fluffy and in your face, we’ve gotta remember the snow we’re riding on too. With all the light fluffy surface snow, the avalanche dragon will easily lure you into its den, making you think you’re good to go. However, our inherently weak snowpack remains tricky this year. The big player is the Thanksgiving rain crust, which supports a tremendous amount of weight. While the snow will feel strong underneath our sled or skis, once we find a weakness, collapse the pack and trigger a slide we’ll be staring down the barrel of a very scary and possibly unsurvivable avalanche. Today, deep, dangerous, human triggered avalanches are likely on all steep, northerly facing slopes at mid and upper elevations. You can avoid all of this mess by being patient for the next few days and riding on low angle terrain with no steep slopes above or adjacent to you.


THREAT #2

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

 

New snow avalanches were sensitive, but very predictable yesterday, entraining quite a bit of snow as they descended the slope. These soft, manageable avalanches aren’t big enough to bury a person, but they could easily knock you off you skis, board or machine and take you for a serious ride over a cliff or into a group of trees. I’d bet some of these sensitivities calmed down overnight, but due to the shear amount of snow we’ve received in the past few days these sluffs could get a little out of hand stacking up more debris than you might expect.


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

 

The storm is winding down, but a moist northwest flow will prevail through today and into tonight, producing periods of morning snow becoming more showery this afternoon. Northwest winds will increase later today into the 30’s along the high ridges. As cold air filters into the region temperatures will be dropping. Highs at 8,000’ only reach into the mid teens and at 10,000’ near 10 degrees. Overnight lows dive into negative territory, right around -3 degrees. A northwest flow over the region through midweek allows for the chance of snow showers, but no big accumulations are on tap. Dry weather is expected for the latter half of the week.

 

 


GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Remember- your observations help to save other riders lives. So if you see or trigger any avalanches please let me know what your seeing. You can reach me at 801-231-2170 or craig@utahavalanchecenter.org

While it's quiet, now is a great time to schedule a free avalanche awareness class for your group or club. You can reach me at 801-231-2170 or craig@utahavalanchecenter.org for more details.

The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after the date and time posted. I'll update this advisory by 7:00 am on Wednesday Jan. 28, 2009.


This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done.  This advisory is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.


This advisory provided by the USDA Forest Service, in partnership with:

The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, Utah Division of State Parks and Recreation, Utah Division of Emergency Management, Salt Lake County, Salt Lake Unified Fire Authority and the friends of the La Sal Avalanche Center. See our Sponsors Page for a complete list.