Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Sunday - March 15, 2015 - 5:59am
bottom line

The avalanche danger will rise to MODERATE and human triggered slides are possible on all steep snow covered slopes, especially during the heat of the day. Avalanches triggered in steep, rocky terrain have the potential to break deeper and wider than you might expect and could get quickly out of hand.

Most other terrain offers a LOW avalanche danger.
current conditions

High clouds kept overnight lows rather warm, but most locations are reporting temperatures right around freezing. Southerly winds are generally light, blowing just 10-15 mph even along the high ridges. It's rugged travel out there especially early in the morning. Lower elevation trailheads and roads are melting fast, and many old tracks are hard and set up.... sorta like curb and gutter. But gain a little elevation, swing around to slopes facing the north half of the compass, and believe it or not, you'll still find soft, settled, creamy snow on a go-anywhere base.

Click here for real-time temperatures, snowfall, and winds.

Nice work man! Michael J stomped around Mt. Watson yesterday and snaked two very safe runs in this steep, dramatic terrain, by choosing a route that offered a deep, stable snowpack. More on his travels here.
recent activity

JG spotted these wet slides Friday during his travels in upper Weber Canyon on steep slopes facing the south half of the compass. JG's always awesome take on the snow conditions can be found here.
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

The snowpack was rather well-behaved yesterday and I didn't hear of any news of the weird. While I think most of our avalanche issues are pretty straight-forward, the one wild card is steep, rocky terrain with a thin, shallow snowpack. If you're getting into terrain with these characteristics remember- even a small slide breaking to the ground could quickly get out of hand, especially in steep committing terrain.
Avalanche Problem 2
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

It's March and the sun is getting intense. As the day heats up and particularly if you're feeling like an ant under a magnifying glass, you'll want to get off of and out from under steep, sunny slopes. In addition, avoid terrain traps like gullies and road cuts where wet, cement-like debris can pile up very deeply.

Todays heat will make cornices more tender and they may break further back than you'd expect.
weather

Clouds should thin out as the day wares on and high temperatures flirt with record breaking territory, reaching into the mid 50's. Southwest winds increase into the 20's and 30's along the ridges and then mellow out late in the day. Another scorcher is on tap for Monday and then some moisture with cooler temperatures slides through the region Tuesday through Thursday, giving us a few inches of snow.
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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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 Mar. 18, 2015.