Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Monday - December 22, 2014 - 6:05am
bottom line

At mid and upper elevations, at and above treeline, the avalanche danger is HIGH. Human triggered avalanches are likely especially on steep, wind drifted slopes facing the north half of the compass. Any slide triggered today has the potential to break deep and wide, resulting in a dangerous and possibly unsurvivable avalanche.

A CONSIDERABLE danger exists on upper elevation south facing terrain and human triggered avalanches are probable.

Looking for LOW avalanche danger? Head to low elevation south facing slopes that have no preexisting weak snow issues or big open meadows with no steep slopes above or adjacent to where you're ridng..
avalanche warning

THIS AVALANCHE WARNING IS FOR THE WASATCH...BEAR RIVER AND WESTERN UINTA MOUNTAIN RANGES...THE WASATCH PLATEAU AND THE CENTRAL UTAH MOUNTAINS. HEAVY SNOW AND STRONG WINDS HAVE CREATED A HIGH AVALANCHE DANGER. HUMAN TRIGGERED AND NATURAL AVALANCHES CONTINUE TO BE LIKELY TODAY ON TERRAIN STEEPER THAN 30 DEGREES ABOVE 8000 FEET. PEOPLE SHOULD AVOID BEING ON OR BELOW ANY STEEP SNOW COVERED SLOPES UNTIL AVALANCHE CONDITIONS IMPROVE. THIS WARNING DOES NOT INCLUDE SKI AREAS OR HIGHWAYS WHERE AVALANCHE CONTROL IS NORMALLY DONE.
special announcement

Huge thanks to Sam T Evans and Look Trailers for generously donating a loaner two place sled trailer for the 2014-15 season.... y'all rock!

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

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

Wow... what a storm! Yesterday, west winds raged at all elevations with hurricane force gusts in the 70's and 80's along the high peaks. While it's hard to tell exactly how much snow fell, I think 12"-15" of dense heavy snow is a pretty good bet. Colder air filtered into the region late last night, dipping temperatures into the mid 20's, whilst deposting a few inches of light density snow. Riding and turning conditions are gonna be a bit funky as the snow will feel very upside down.
recent activity

Like traveling inside a milk jug, visibility was limited yesterday and there were no reports from the backcountry.
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

Sunday's big storm delivered a one-two punch to the eastern front with dense, heavy, water laden snow and raging winds. All of that weight slammed down onto a preexisting weak, layer of sugary snow... yup, we've got the classic strong snow on weak snow combo. You don't need to be a rocket scientist or a snow scientist for that matter to realize it's sketchy in the mountains and you don't have to be on steep, radical terrain to trigger an avalanche. As a matter of fact, you'll be able to trigger slides from a distance and on relatively low angle terrain. Once initiated, today's slides will break deep and wide and have the potential to take out the entire seasons snowpack. It doesn't mean you can't ride.... it does mean you're gonna have to avoid being on or under steep, wind drifted slopes, especially those facing the north half of the compass.

Remember- whoomphing sounds or shooting cracks in front of your skis, board, or sled are huge clues to unstable snow. And don't forget the biggest clue... recent avalanches! Especially if they're occurring on the same kind of slope you wanna ride on.
weather

It's gonna be another rugged day in the mountains as the very strong and moist northwest flow continues. Look for periods of snow with an additional 2"-4" throughout the day. West and northwest winds continue to blast the ridges, blowing in the 70's and 80's. Temperatures don't vary much from where we're at this morning and as skies clear tonight temperatures dive into the single digits. Clear weather and a warming trend is on tap for Tuesday and Wednesday with another colder storm slated for Christmas day.
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 Tuesday Dec. 23, 2014.