Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Tuesday - December 23, 2014 - 5:47am
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 riding.
avalanche warning

AN AVALANCHE WARNING CONTINUES FOR THE WESTERN UINTA MOUNTAINS. RECENT HEAVY SNOW AND STRONG WINDS HAVE CREATED A HIGH AVALANCHE DANGER. HUMAN TRIGGERED AVALANCHES ARE 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

An additional 8"-10" of medium density snow fell across the range in the past 24 hours, bringing storm totals close to two feet. Skies have cleared and temperatures crashed into the single digits overnight. Winds have finally relaxed, they're blowing out of the west and northwest at speeds of 15-25 mph along the high ridges. Yesterday's, funky, upside down snow has been blanketed with a layer of lighter snow as the last gasp of the big storm slid through the range. Riding and turning conditions will be quite good today, particularly on low angle, rock free meadows.

Holy rime! Dense, heavy, water soaked snow clings to trees on the eastern front.
recent activity

Rugged travel and limited visibility yesterday kept observations to a minimum. However, both JG and Michael Janulaitis braved the brutal weather and report plenty of shooting cracks, collapses, and sketchy snowpack structure. Their trip reports are found here.

Remotely triggered avalanche near Soapstone.

JG caught this image of raging winds on Bald Mountain Pass yesterday.
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

This was a great storm for the eastern front, but we've gotta remember all the heavy snow, lots of water weight, and hurricane force winds all slammed down on a weak, sugary snowpack. We've got a deceptively dangerous setup because the snow will feel strong and bomber underneath our skis, board, or sled.

So here's the deal... we need to think not only about the snow we're riding in, but also the snow we're riding on and right now the weak pre-exisitng snow needs some time to adjust. 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. Any avalanche triggered today has the potential to break into weak layers near the ground, producing a large and dangerous slide. Add sunny skies to the mix and now we've got the perfect setup for a close call, or worse yet, avalanche accident.

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.

Michael found sensitive conditions between the old snow/new snow interface. Here you can see a shooting crack between to old surface snow and the new storm snow.

weather

High pressure builds over the region, giving us mostly sunny skies with temperatures warming into the low and mid 20's. Winds should remain relatively well behaved and in the 15-25 mph range along the ridges. Clear skies lead to overnight lows in the teens. Increasing clouds Wednesday with a significant winter storm on tap for late Wednesday night, continuing through Friday. Looks like a foot of snow is a good bet when the storm winds down on Saturday.
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 Wednesday Dec. 24, 2014.