Uintas Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Craig Gordon

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Many thanks to all who participated in yesterdays Avy Essentials class. It was great to connect with some old friends and make some new friends as well. Thanks for supporting the Avalanche Center… we look forward to seeing y’all out on the snow!


BOTTOM LINE

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


Danger Rose Tutorial

In the wind zone above treeline a Level 2 (MODERATE) avalanche danger exists, especially in steep, rocky terrain, facing the north half of the compass. While pockety and hard to trigger, large and dangerous human triggered avalanches are still possible in isolated areas.

In all other upper and mid elevation terrain, the avalanche danger is Level 2 (MODERATE) and human triggered avalanches are possible on steep, wind drifted slopes.

At lower elevations and in non wind affected terrain the avalanche danger is Level 1 (LOW).


CURRENT CONDITIONS

Light snow is falling as a cold Pacific storm system continues to move through the region. It looks like the North Slope benefited from this system with 4” of light, cold smoke. Terrain further to the south, from Trial Lake to Daniels, received about half that amount. Westerly winds are blowing 25-30 mph along the high ridges and temperatures are in the low to mid teens. Many popular slopes are tracked out, but last night’s coat of new paint will help freshen things up a bit.


RECENT ACTIVITY

No new avalanches reported or observed yesterday.

On Friday, Ted found a nice slide in Cataract Canyon on the east side of the range where the snowpack is a bit weaker. The avalanche was 2'-3' deep, 250’ wide, running 650’ vertically. Click here for more details. Many thanks to Ted Scroggin for all his hard work helping to save lives and making this program such a success... you rock, man!

Click here for recent snowpack and avalanche observations.


THREAT #1

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

Yesterday we found an abundance of fragile, trophy sized surface hoar and weak, near surface facets. Last night’s storm came in with little wind and I suspect these persistent, fragile weaknesses are now buried and preserved. In upper elevation terrain where a slab now rests on top of this layer, fresh wind drifts will be sensitive to the weight of a rider. For now these are manageable avalanches, breaking at or below our sled, skis, or board. Found mostly on the leeward side of upper elevation ridges, I wouldn’t be too surprised to also find slabs lurking on the lee side of chutes and gullies. In any case, look for and avoid any steep slope with recent deposits of wind drifted snow.


THREAT #2

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

Right now our problem child, a deep dangerous avalanche that breaks to the ground, has been pretty well behaved. However, if you’re getting into steep, radical or technical terrain today, there’s still an isolated possibility of triggering a slide that breaks to the ground, especially on slopes facing the north half of the compass that are thin and rocky... slopes like this.


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

Light snow should fall the next few hours before this system moves south and snow showers begin to taper off. West and northwest winds blow 15-30 mph along the highest ridges, before switching northwest late today and dying off. Temperatures don’t vary much throughout the day, but overnight lows crash to -5 degrees. Cold air remains in place on Monday and temperatures struggle to get out of the single digits. Partly cloudy skies are on tap for Tuesday with a slight warming trend. Warmer temperatures and partly cloudy skies take hold of the weather pattern midweek. The models are now waffling on an upcoming trend, but it looks like something moves into the region late in the week which could provide a good shot of snow.


GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but will be updated by 7:00 AM on Wednesday Jan. 12th.

If you’re getting out and about and trigger an avalanche or see anything interesting please drop me an email at craig@utahavalanchecenter.org or call 801-231-2170

We are teaching a Snowmobile Avalanche Awareness Course the week of January 5th. Click here for details.

Also, now is a great time to schedule one of our free avalanche awareness presentations for your group or club. Email or call me and we’ll get you booked before things get too crazy.

Many thanks to all the great folks at Tri-City Performance and Polaris for their extremely generous donation to the Utah Avalanche Center. You guys… and gals rock! Click here to see Craig’s new ride.

The western Uinta advisory program is going full tilt and forecasts will be issued by 7:00 AM on Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday and all holidays.


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.