Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Wednesday - January 22, 2014 - 5:24am
bottom line

While not widespread, pockets of CONSIDERABLE danger exist on steep, rocky, leeward slopes in the wind zone.Terrain to avoid- upper elevation slopes facing the north half of the compass, especially those with an easterly component to their aspect. Human triggered avalanches are likely in terrain with these characteristics..

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 where there are no steep slopes above or adjacent to where you're riding.
current conditions

Skies are clear, temperatures are in the low to mid 20's, and northwest winds are light even along the high peaks where they're blowing 10-15 mph. It's a bit of a mixed bag out there this morning. Upper elevation wind exposed terrain is blown clean to the dirt and south aspects are baked and crusty. However, mid elevation wind sheltered terrain still 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

What's wrong with this picture. One sled triggered avalanche with intact slope right next to it... same slope angle, aspect, elevation and tracks all over it. Sometimes it's just a roll of the dice. What a way ride. I think I'll take my chances in Vegas rather than hedging my luck in the mountains.

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

It seems like the slab is starting to relax and both our snowpit results and lack of avalanche activity confirm this. Am I ready to drop into a steep, windloaded, upper elevation slope? Negative, because 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

High pressure gives us sunny skies this morning with temperatures climbing into the mid 30's. Clouds increase late in the day as a weak weather system slides through the region, bringing little if any snowfall. Cloudy and cooler for Thursday with east winds along the ridges. High pressure returns once again for the weekend and continues through much of next week.
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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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 Saturday Jan. 25, 2014