Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Sunday - March 2, 2014 - 5:22am
bottom line

NO GO TERRAIN- in the wind zone at upper elevations, where the avalanche danger is HIGH today. Human triggered avalanches are very likely on all steep, wind drifted slopes, particularly those facing the north half of the compass. Once triggered, today's avalanches can break deep and wide, creating a very dangerous slide.

A CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger is found at mid elevations and human triggered avalanches are probable on steep, wind drifted slopes.

Strong winds have gotten into low elevation terrain as well. A MODERATE danger is found on steep slopes with recent deposits of wind drifted snow and human triggered avalanches are possible .

GO TO TERRAIN- gentle, wind sheltered slopes with no steep terrain above or adjacent to where you're riding. You'll find a LOW avalanche danger in terrain with these characteristics.

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special announcement

Join us March 8th and 9th at Brighton Resort for the first annual VertFest and 11th annual PowderKeg. There will be gear demos, a series of backcountry skills clinics, free beacon clinics, a party featuring the band Salem from Boulder, CO and a great gear raffle. The VertFest is a benefit for the Utah Avalanche Center. Click Here to find out more and to sign up for the backcountry clinics.

Show Us You Know the Snow: US & Canadian avy groups have a challenge to sidecountry riders: Use your camera to tell a short video story about how your crew gets ready to safely ride beyond the resort boundary. Videos will be posted & promoted by GoPro & other partners. The contest will run till Mar 21. The winner will be determined by a combination of most views & an expert panel. Prizes include: 2 days at Monashee Powder Snowcats, 2 4-day Gold Passes to any US resort, a Backcountry Access Float 22 airbag, gear from Backcountry.com, editing help and support from Sherpas Cinema, & more. Winners will be announced in late March. . Details at knowthesnow.com Please share this with your friends

current conditions

Snow showers still linger over the area, but in general the storm is out of here and only delivered a couple inches of snow in the past 24 hours. Southwest winds raged most of Saturday, peaking in the 70's and 80's around lunch time. The good news is the wind has subsided and is currently blowing 10-20 mph along the high peaks. Temperatures are in the mid 20's and upper teens. Riding and turning conditions are gonna be a bit of a mixed bag. Low and mid elevation wind sheltered terrain is your best bet.

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

Click here for trip reports and avalanche observations.

recent activity

On Friday, Ted found very sensitive wind drifts formed rapidly on upper elevation leeward slopes. More 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

Nothing has changed on this front. While many slopes are thick and strong, the snow structure remains questionable, especially in steep, rocky terrain facing the north half of the compass. This is a deceptively tricky combo because the surface snow feels strong and solid underneath us, but it's the weak, sugary snow near the ground that's the big red flag. Strong snow over weak snow allows us to get well out onto the slope or put several sets of tracks on the hill before we find a weakness, collapse the slope, and now all bets are off. Once triggered, avalanches can break deep and wide, taking out the entire seasons snowpack. Best way to manage this situation is with terrain choices. Simply tone down your objectives the next few days and avoid being on or under steep leeward slopes. Slopes facing the south half of the compass offer more predictable avalanche conditions.

The Uintas are white and slopes are well connected. This is the type of terrain where you could trigger a large slide that break to weak snow near the ground.

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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

Strong winds made up for lack of storm snow and I bet the region experienced a natural avalanche cycle to some extent. Problem with nuking winds is they drift snow into unusual locations and can catch us off guard. Today's stout slabs may be a bit more stubborn, but will break deeper and wider than you might expect. They're packing a hefty punch and will quickly ruin your day, especially if you get slammed into trees or knocked over a cliff. In addition, once triggered, today's drifts have the possibility to break into weaker layers of snow, buried deeper in the snowpack. In either case, a seemingly benign situation can get quickly out of hand. As always, look for and avoid any fat, rounded pillow of snow, especially if it sounds hollow like a drum.

Strong west and southwest winds had no problem moving lots of snow around Friday. Due to the strength of the wind, today's fresh slabs will be lower on the slope than you might expect.

Avalanche Problem 3
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 and have the possibility to break back further than you might expect.

weather

Hit or miss snow showers along with some breaks in cloud cover are on tap through midweek. During this period, west and southwest winds remain in the 10-20 mph range with a few gusts in the mid 20's and 30's along the high peaks. Temperatures climb into the low 30's with overnight lows in the upper teens. High pressure builds for Wednesday and then a better shot of snow Thursday night into early Friday. A warm, dry airmass is slated to move into the region for next 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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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 Mar. 5, 2014