Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Sunday - January 19, 2014 - 5:29am
bottom line

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 CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger exists. Human triggered avalanches are likely.

A MODERATE avalanche danger is found on any steep wind drifted slope at mid elevations. Human triggered avalanches are possible.

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.
special announcement

What a view! Nearly 50 sledders gather on top of Windy Peak yesterday as our avy class looks at the very extensive slide cycle in the western Uinta's. A huge shout out to everyone who contributed their time and gave a lot of themselves to help host yesterdays amazingly successful Snowmobile Avalanche Workshop. In particular, thanks to Tri-City Performance, Park City Powdercats, Dan Gardiner, Phatty and the Boondockers crew, all of the very talented instructors, and of course everyone who attended! Trent put together a fun recap here, detailing the event.
current conditions

Skies are clear, temperatures are in the low to mid 20's, and winds have finally subsided, currently blowing 10-20 mph along the high peaks. Last weeks big storm helped immensely with snow coverage, but most of our wind exposed terrain has taken a hard hit and is scoured to the dirt. However, mid and low elevation wind sheltered terrain offers soft, settled, creamy powder.

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

Click here for trip reports and avalanche observations.
recent activity

The all intrepid Ted Scroggin found yet another avalanche that broke to the ground during last weeks big avalanche cycle. This slide occurred on Double Hill.

Even more recent avalanche activity is 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

Our snowpack continues to adjust to last weeks big storm and we haven't heard about any avalanche activity since Thursday's large natural slide in upper Chalk Creek. While that's good news, I'm still not totally psyched on the basic structure of the snowpack... strong snow resting on weak snow. Sure, you can ride plenty of slopes and not trigger a deep, scary avalanche, but many steep slopes are waiting for us to come along and pull the rug out from underneath. Problem with our current snowpack setup is the snow allows 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 a very dangerous avalanche. It's a roll of the dice and the best way to manage this type of avalanche dragon is to avoid steep, upper elevation, wind drifted slopes.
weather

Nothing is changing in this department as strong high pressure maintains a dry and mild airmass through at least Wednesday. Sunny skies with temperatures climbing into the mid to upper 30's are on tap the next few days. A weak, wimpy system wiggles through the region Thursday, but there's not much energy or moisture associated with this storm. There are no big storms in sight.
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 Wednesday Jan. 22, 2014