Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Saturday - November 29, 2014 - 5:50am
bottom line

While not widespread, pockets of MODERATE avalanche danger exist on steep, upper elevation slopes facing the north half of the compass and human triggered avalanches are possible.

Remember- triggering even a small slide will expose stumps and rocks, instantly ruing your day and quite possibly your season.

Out of the wind zone the avalanche danger is generally LOW.
special announcement

NEW THIS YEAR: You can now receive advisories by email for each region in the state. Go here for details.

Current winds, snowfall, and temperatures can be found here.
current conditions

A mild southwest flow over the region ushered in clouds last night, keeping temperatures in the upper 20's and low 30's. Southwest winds increased around dinner time and are blowing 35-50 mph along the high ridges. With only two feet of total snow on the ground it's still pretty thin out there and you gotta think light if you're getting off an established trail or road.

Our Uinta weather station network is up and running. Current winds, snowfall, and temperatures can be found here.

Lower elevation terrain has taken a hard hit this week

Upper elevation terrain is white from far...

but far from white.
recent activity

No recent avalanche activity to report.
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 pretty quiet on the eastern front and for good reason.... the snowpack is rather well behaved. The warm temperatures this week have been a big help, allowing the snowpack to settle and gain strength. Sure, in the short term the trailheads are melting out and getting around is a pain in the neck, but in the long term the warmth is allowing the weak early snow to gain a bit of strength.

The Uinta's are thin and rocky and the snowpack lacks continuity... it's what we call "pockety" and it's not all that connected. What that means is you'd really have to go out of your way to trigger an avalanche this weekend. Remember though, triggering even a small slide will immediately ruin your day if you go for a body beating ride through rocks and stumps. The most likely terrain to trigger a slide is gonna be steep, shady, upper elevation terrain facing the north half of the compass.
weather

It'll be warm and windy with thickening clouds throughout the day as a weak cold front slides through the region. High temperatures climb into the low 40's and southwest winds blow in the 40's and 50's along the high ridges. An inch or two of snow is possible early Sunday morning with another mild storm expected midweek.

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 Sunday Nov. 30, 2014.