Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Sunday - February 1, 2015 - 5:36am
bottom line

In general most terrain offers a LOW avalanche danger.

If you're getting into steep, technical terrain, at upper elevations in the wind zone, there may be a fresh wind slab or two that'll be reactive to the weight of a rider.




special announcement

Got a young ripper in the family? Well hook 'em up at our star studded Snowbasin Freeride Avalanche Summit. Beginning the afternoon of February 7, followed by 2 days on snow – February 8th and 9th. More details here.

RESEARCH PROJECT ON UNDERSTANDING TRAVEL BEHAVIOR IN AVALANCHE TERRAIN NEEDS YOU!

Scientists from the Snow and Avalanche Lab at Montana State University are seeking more participants for their project examining decision making and travel in avalanche terrain. Their project aims to collect GPS location information (from your smartphone) and survey responses from backcountry skiers and riders to better understand what types of terrain are used and how decisions are made. Their focus is on backcountry skiers and riders of all abilities and experience.

For more information: www.montana.edu/snowscience/tracks For snowmobilers: www.montana.edu/snowscience/sleds

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

High pressure is overhead this morning, skies are clear, and temperatures are in the mid teens. East and Northeast winds have been raking the upper elevation ridges, blowing in the 30's and 40's along the highest peaks. Friday's 2"-3" of snow went a long way and vastly improved the riding and turning conditions. Mid elevation terrain is your best bet where you'll still find soft settled snow. Click here for real-time temperatures, snowfall, and winds.

Our intrepid man with the plan from the North Slope,Ted Scroggin, was in Gold Hill yesterday and found good riding conditions on a mostly supportable base. His trip report is found here.
recent activity

No new 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

Since mid day Saturday, east and northeast winds have been cranking into the 40's along the high peaks across the range. Winds are expected to swing around to the west and northwest during the day, forming fresh slabs on a whole new host of slopes. While not widespread, I suspect you'll find a drift or two sensitive to the additional weight of a person, especially along the leeward side of upper elevation ridges. Today's slabs are easy to detect and avoid... lose a little elevation and they become a non-issue.

This guy crushes it... JG submitted a great detailed pit profile from his travels in Weber Canyon. More on his trip from Friday can be seen here.
weather

A beautiful start to the day with clear skies and temperatures warming into the low 30's. Winds should shift to the west and northwest and increase into the 20's and 30's as the day progresses. Clouds thicken late in the day as a series of loosely organized systems begins to impact the area through Wednesday. No single system is particularly strong, though we might be able to stack up close to a foot of snow by 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]

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 Feb. 4, 2015.