Uintas Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Craig Gordon

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

I'll be giving a free avalanche awareness presentation open to the public tonight at 6:00 in Kamas at the Search and Rescue facility.


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 pockets of Level 3 (CONSIDERABLE) avalanche danger exist, but you'll find two distinctly different avalanche dragons. On steep wind drifted slopes, manageable avalanches breaking within the freshly wind drifted snow are likely. Unmanageable avalanches breaking to weak snow near the ground are also likely, especially on steep slopes facing the north half of the compass.

A LEVEL 2 (MODERATE) danger exists at mid elevations and human triggered avalanches are possible, particularly on steep wind drifted slopes.

Mid and low elevation slopes facing the south half of the compass offer Level 1 (LOW) avalanche danger.


CURRENT CONDITIONS

Under mostly cloudy skies light snow is falling, but it only looks like an inch has accumulated and we don’t expect a whole lot more. Southwest winds howled along the ridges late last night, averaging 30 mph with gusts in the low 50’s. The cold front arrived around midnight, winds switched to the west-northwest and backed off into the 20’s and 30’s. Currently temperatures are in the low to mid teens. Among the hard old, molar rattling, wind blown tracks there’s soft settled snow, but it’s a pretty limited commodity.


RECENT ACTIVITY

Ted spotted a natural slide from the weekend storm on the east side of Moffit Peak and found some interesting results on a steep test slope. Click here for more details.


THREAT #1

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

In the wake of last night's storm, winds formed sensitive, yet shallow drifts along the leeward side of upper elevation ridges. Today’s manageable soft slabs will predictably break at or below your sled, skis, or board. But that doesn’t tell the whole tale.


THREAT #2

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

While Ted was stomping around the North Slope, Trent and I looked at the snowpack around Mill Hollow, the Duchesene Ridge, and near Tower Mountain. We all agree it’s a complete junk show out there. While we’re used to dealing with weak faceted snow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen snow so fragile with such little structure. While the snow near the ground is lifeless, the big game changer was the New Years Eve wind event which laid down a solid slab that still has plenty of energy. (Click here for a great video Trent put together which captures the current state of the snowpack.... nice work man!)

Reports of collapsing and cracking of the snowpack are more the rule than the exception and we found the slab/weak snow combo quite reactive in our snowpit tests. It’s tricky out there because you can ride many slopes where there is no slab, and yes you’ll be wallowing in bottomless sugary snow but the avalanche danger is negligible. Problem is, once you find a slope where there’s a hard, bomber feeling slab on top of this weak snow you’re likely to trigger an avalanche that breaks to the ground. The most likely terrain you’ll find this combination are mid and upper elevation slopes facing northwest through southeast.


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

We’ll see some lingering snow showers as last night’s system heads east, but in general skies will begin to clear during the morning hours. Northwesterly winds are gonna be a nuisance today, blowing in the 30’s along the high ridges. It’ll be brisk out there with highs only reaching into the upper teens and low 20’s and overnight lows dive into the single digits. A cold northerly flow remains in place through Thursday. High pressure builds Friday, with drier and warmer weather persisting through the weekend. There might be a slight glimmer of hope for a pattern change next week and we’ll have a better idea what the future holds for the weekend update.


GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but will be updated by 7:00 AM Saturday, January 14th.

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

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.


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.