Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Saturday - March 22, 2014 - 5:35am
bottom line

In the wind zone, a MODERATE avalanche danger exists on leeward slopes and human triggered avalanches are possible in steep, wind drifted terrain. While not widespread, once initiated, today's avalanches can break deep and wide, creating a very dangerous slide.

Mid and low elevation wind sheltered terrain offers a generally LOW avalanche danger.

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current conditions

A weak storm system sliding to the north of the region is ushering in high, thin clouds, but nothing on the way of precip. West and southwest winds are blowing 20-30 mph along the high peaks and temperatures are in the upper teens and mid 20's. The snow surface has taken a hard hit this week and soft snow is limited to very sheltered, shady terrain. The south half of the compass is starting to offer corn-like conditions, particularly at mid and lower elevations. Might be a good day to crank out the taxes.

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

Click here for trip reports.
recent activity

No recent avalanche activity to report. Archived 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

A few tired, old wind slabs may still be reactive to the additional weight of a rider today. Lurking on the leeward side of upper elevation ridges and around terrain features like chutes and gullies, these will appear fat and rounded and sound hollow like a drum. Mostly predictable in depth and width, take care that a stiff wind slab doesn't knock you off your feet, especially in steep, unforgiving, high consequence terrain.

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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

I'm not totally convinced we're done with avalanches breaking to the ground. I think at the moment the weak sugary snow near the ground is dormant and just chillin'. It usually takes a big storm or rapid load to reactivate these layers or sometimes all we need to do if find the weakest link in the snowpack, tickle it just right, and now we've triggered a monster slide. While there's plenty of slopes offering green light conditions, steep, rocky terrain, facing the north half of the compass remains suspect. Unless you have a detailed history of the slope you plan to ride and know it's avalanched to the ground at some point this season, given the consequences, it's best to avoid terrain with these characteristics.

weather

This morning we can expect overcast skies a couple of flurries with west and northwest winds averaging 15-25 mph along the high ridges. Skies clear as the day progresses and high temperatures reach into the low 30's. Under clear skies, overnight lows dip into the teens. High pressure builds for early in the week giving us warm, dry weather and then a quick hitting storm is shaping up for Wednesday.

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 Sunday Mar. 23, 2014 or sooner if conditions warrant.