Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Saturday - December 13, 2014 - 6:09am
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In the wind zone at and above treeline a MODERATE avalanche danger exists and human triggered avalanches are possible on steep slopes facing the north half of the compass. Remember- triggering even a small slide will expose stumps and rocks, instantly ruing your day and quite possibly your season.

All other terrain offers a LOW avalanche danger.




special announcement

Huge thanks to Weller Recreation and Ski-Doo for partnering with The Avalanche Center and providing a loaner sled for the 2014-15 season. This partnership allows us to see more terrain, issue more accurate forecasts, and ultimately save more lives.

We just released an exciting, new avy safety video designed specifically for snowmobilers - Knowledge is Powder. https://vimeo.com/113677686

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

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

current conditions

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the big soaking storm that slammed California earlier this week, split around us, depositing only about 2" of snow. Yesterday's raging southwest winds have died off somewhat and are blowing 30-50 mph along the high ridges. Temperatures have cooled into the mid to upper 20's

Riding and turning options are pretty hit or miss. Shady terrain offers thin, yet mostly supportable conditions. Swing around to the sunny slopes and you're left high and dry on may slopes. Ted was in Millcreek yesterday and his trip report is found here.

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 always amazes me how just a little bit of snow and strong winds can change the landscape and ramp up the avalanche danger in a hurry. Last night's storm wasn't a huge game changer, but you are gonna have to be a little more on your toes today. While not widespread, I suspect stout wind slabs formed overnight, and these fat, rounded drifts are resting on weak, sugary surface snow or if you really wanna geek out it's what snow nerds call near surface facets. In either case, today's drifts will be reactive to the additional weight of a rider today. The most likely terrain to trigger a slide will be on upper elevation leeward slopes, especially those facing the north half of the compass. Loose a little elevation, get out of the wind zone, and the avalanche danger decreases dramatically.

Here's a great snowpit that JG submitted from Bald Mountain Pass, clearly showing the weak surface snow. JG's trip report from Thursday can be found here.

weather

The storm is stretching out and weakening, though we might be able to squeak another inch or so out of the system as a cooler wave slides through the region around midday. However, we're basically left with dribs and drabs of moisture. Southwest winds are gonna be a nuisance, with gusts in the 40's and 50's along the high ridges, before backing off later today. Temperatures climb into the upper 20's and dive into the teens overnight under clearing skies. High pressure builds for early in the week and a series of weak systems are on tap for midweek and again 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]

Donate to your favorite non-profit –The Utah Avalanche Center. The UAC depends on contributions from users like you to support our work.

Benefit the Utah Avalanche Center when you buy or sell on ebay - set the Utah Avalanche Center as a favorite non-profit in your ebay account here and click on ebay gives when you buy or sell.  You can choose to have your seller fees donated to the UAC, which doesn't cost you a penny.

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 Dec. 14, 2014.