Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Wednesday - January 15, 2014 - 4:58am
bottom line

Avalanches are harder to initiate, but if you do trigger a slide the end result will be devastating! Please take a moment and think about the consequences of not coming home to your family at the end of the day. Yes, this is the real deal.

Terrain to avoid- steep, upper elevation slopes facing the north half of the compass, especially those in the wind zone with an easterly component to their aspect, where a HIGH avalanche danger exists. Both human triggered avalanches are very likely.

A CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger is found on any wind drifted slope at mid or low elevations. Human triggered avalanches are likely.

Go to terrain- If you're looking for LOW avalanche danger, head to wind sheltered terrain, especially those facing the south half of the compass where there are no steep slopes above or adjacent to where you're riding.
avalanche warning

AN AVALANCHE WARNING CONTINUES FOR THE WESTERN UINTA MOUNTAINS. VERY DANGEROUS AVALANCHE CONDITIONS EXIST...AVOID BEING ON OR BENEATH STEEP MOUNTAIN SLOPES... AS AVALANCHES MAY BE TRIGGERED LOW ON THE SLOPE AS WELL.
current conditions

Skies are clear and temperatures are in the mid teens. Near the ridges, Northwest winds are blowing 25-35 mph. Along the high peaks they increased around 1:00 this morning and are gusting to 50 mph. Most wind exposed terrain is jacked, but we found soft settled powder yesterday in sheltered terrain. Meadows with no steep slopes above you are the ticket today.

Click here for current winds, temperatures, and snowfall throughout the range.

Click here for trip reports and avalanche observations.
recent activity

Clear skies allowed for some great avalanche sight-seeing and there were big, tree snapping avalanches everywhere. Many thanks to Johnny Adolphson from Park City Powdercats for this great image of a large slide on a steep Northeast facing slope in Chalk Creek.

This image is from a close call on Tower Mountain occurring Saturday. Breaking over 1000' wide and failing low on slope, the avalanche took out the entire seasons snowpack. While the sled got worked, the rider came out unscathed. We learned about this avalanche through the interwebz. Please help to save lives and help our community too, by reporting what you see while riding. You can contact me directly- [email protected] or 801-231-2170... thanks!

Our main man Ted Scroggin found these slides in unusual terrain near Kletting Peak. More on this here.

But wait... there's even more recent avalanche activity which can be found here.
Avalanche Problem 1
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

Yesterday's sunshine and relatively warm temperatures not only made us feel good, it also helped to settle the new snow, allowing it to gain a bit of strength and slowly adjust to last weeks big storm... that's good news. The bad news is... right now we have a deceptively tricky snowpack because the snow will feel solid under our sled, skis, or board. The snow will allow us to get well out onto the slope before it fails on sugary old snow near the ground. Once initiated, today's slides will break deep and wide, creating an unsurvivable avalanche. Complicating matters is the fact that you may still be able to trigger avalanches low on the slope or from a distance.

Remember- most avalanche accidents occur the first few sunny days right after a big storm. It doesn't mean you can't ride. It does mean you need to stay off of and out from under steep wind drifted slopes, especially slopes facing the north half of the compass.

JG kills it with great obs for the western Uintas. More of his outstanding observations can be found here.
Avalanche Problem 2
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

Cornices are huge, especially on the leeward side of upper elevation ridges. These monsters can easily break back further than you might expect, taking you for a nasty, unexpected ride down the elevator shaft, and possibly triggering a large avalanche as you both hit the slope below..
weather

Sunny skies and warming temperatures are on tap for today. West and northwest winds remain a nuisance along the high ridges, blowing in the 30's and 40's, eventually diminishing later today. High temperatures climb into the mid 30's, dipping into the teens overnight. Dry and mild conditions are in store for us through the weekend.
general announcements

Remember your information can save lives. If you see anything we should know about, please participate in the creation of our own community avalanche advisory by submitting snow and avalanche conditions.   You can call me directly at 801-231-2170, email [email protected], or email by clicking HERE

This is a great time of year to schedule a free avalanche awareness presentation for your group or club. You can contact me at 801-231-2170 or email [email protected]

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Utah Avalanche Center mobile app - Get your advisory on your iPhone along with great navigation and rescue tools.

The information in this advisory is from the US Forest Service which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.

I will update this advisory by 7:00 AM on Thursday Jan. 16, 2014