Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Saturday - January 25, 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. Once triggered, today's avalanches have the possibility to break deep and wide, creating a very dangerous avalanche.

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

Under clear skies and above the valley inversions, temperatures are in the mid to upper 20's. On the north half of the range, northwesterly winds bumped into 30's overnight, but calmed down early this morning and are blowing 10-20 mph. However, ridgetop winds on the south half of the range are still humming along at 30-40 mph. Riding and turning conditions are a mixed bag. Upper elevation wind exposed terrain is blown clean to the dirt and south aspects are baked and crusty. Mid elevation wind sheltered terrain is the ticket and 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

Many thanks to my partners Ted Scroggin and Trent Meisenheimer for taking time out of their busy lives to scope out this rather large slide on the eastern front... you guys are awesome! A brief viddy describing Uinta conditions can be seen here.

Very large sled triggered slide on Double Hill from earlier in the week.

Trent and his sled are dwarfed by the glacial sized blocks of bone crushing debris.

An overview from the amphitheater... our main man Ted Scroggin tries to digest the enormity of this truly epic slide. Ted knows the Uinta's better than anyone else and has never seen this slope slide this big before.

15'-20' deep and 500' wide, the avalanche ran 800' vertically.

Even the boyz at Mavericks would be impressed with the double overhead conditions in the western Uinta's.

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's been two weeks since the big storm cycle rolled through the range and one is for sure... the western Uinta's experienced the largest avalanche cycle many of us have ever seen. What makes conditions super tricky right now is the fact that you can ride the vast majority of our terrain and not even have to deal with avalanches. Problem is, the snowpack will feel bomber under our skis, board, or sled. And just like a weekend in Vegas, we'll be feelin' pretty good about things and lured deeper into the intoxicating feeling of winning and going big. Unfortunately, all we need to do is a find a weakness (usually around a rock band we can't see under the snow), collapse the slope, and now we're staring down the barrel of a deadly slide. All the recent avalanches we've looked at have a common theme- they're upper elevation, east and northeast facing slopes, and they're fat and heavily windloaded. Best way to avoid the unpredictable is to avoid slopes with these characteristics. The best way to combat the unknown is to manage our terrain choices.

Remember... just like Vegas, in an instant we can lose it all and there's no more free buffet. Yeah, it's a roll of the dice and there's a reason the house always wins.

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The UAC fleet in front of yet another sled triggered slide in Super Bowl from earlier in the week.
weather

Warm, dry, high pressure remains over the region providing another beautiful weekend in the mountains. Highs climb into the low 40's today and tomorrow, with overnight lows dipping into the mid 20's. A mostly dry, yet cold impulse slides through the region late Monday, increasing winds and delivering a flurry or two while dropping high temperatures by about 10 degrees. Looks like a glimmer of hope for some snow later in the 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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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 Sunday Jan. 26, 2014