Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Wednesday - March 25, 2015 - 5:45am
bottom line

In the wind zone at and above treeline, pockets of CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger exist and human triggered slides are probable in steep, wind drifted terrain, especially on slopes with an easterly component to its aspect. Once triggered, todays avalanches may break deeper and wider than you might expect and with all the slick crusts to run on they'll be packing some heat.

Mid elevation terrain offers a MODERATE avalanche danger and human triggered slides are possible on steep slopes with recent deposits of wind drifted snow.

Most other terrain offers a LOW avalanche danger.
current conditions

Skies are starting to clear as the last gasp of yesterday's storm heads east. This has been a nice fresh coat of white paint with storm totals in the 6"-8" range. Temperatures are in the teens and low 20's, but west-northwest winds blowing in the 30's and 40's along the high ridges are bound to remind you of the winter that wasn't. Riding and turning conditions vastly improved in the past 24 hours and low angle slopes will be the ticket to avoid bottoming out on the old, hard, preexisting snow surfaces.

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

Yikes... low elevation access got smoked by last weeks warm temperatures.
recent activity

Breaking within the new storm snow, shallow wind drifts were easily triggered on steep, wind drifted slopes.
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

Wind... it was invented in the western Uinta's and continues to corner the market share today. West and southwest winds cranked in the 30's and 40's with gusts to 60 mph most of Tuesday. They switched to the west and northwest around 10:00 last night, mellowing somewhat and backing off into the 20's and 30's at 4:00 this morning. There's plenty of snow to blow around and these are perfect winds to transport snow, forming a cohesive slab on the leeward side of upper elevation terrain. Not only will you find fresh slabs sensitive to your additional weight near the ridges, but also around terrain features like chutes, gullies, and sub-ridges, especially on slopes with an easterly component to its aspect. Today you'll want to look for and continue avoiding any fat, rounded piece of snow, especially if it sounds hollow like a drum.
weather

A cool, dry, northerly flow develops over the region, giving us clearing skies and high temperatures in the mid 30's. West and northwest winds are gonna be a nuisance for most of the morning, blowing in the 30's and 40's along the high ridges, before turning to the north and dying down as the day progresses. High pressure brings dry and warm weather to the Uinta's for the last half of the week.
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 Saturday Mar. 28, 2015 or sooner if conditions warrant.