Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Sunday - March 29, 2015 - 5:41am
bottom line

The avalanche danger will rise to MODERATE and human triggered slides are possible on steep, sun baked slopes, especially during the heat of the day.

Most other terrain is either bare ground or offers a LOW avalanche danger.




special announcement

Click here for a short viddy shout-out giving huge thanks to all of our great partners for helping to make this program so successful!

We'll be winding down next week and Sunday April 5th will be the last of our regularly scheduled advisories.

current conditions

Winds switched to the northwest late yesterday afternoon, allowing a weak cool front to slide through the region and dropping temperatures into the upper 20's and low 30's. Under clear skies, northerly winds are blowing 10-25 mph along the high ridges. Trailheads have taken a hard hit the past few weeks and it's slow going til you get up high to softer snow. However, it's worth the effort and the patience, as dry snow awaits at upper elevations.

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

Beautiful views and predictable avalanche danger...

... lead to big terrain and adventurous descents on the eastern front.

recent activity

A couple days old, this slab broke naturally during the midweek storm on the steep, wind loaded shoulder of Moffit Peak

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

Spring is a pretty remarkable time of year for big rides, spectacular views, and amazing weather. While our snowpack has been vertically challenged all winter, the warm temperatures have produced a predictable, "go anywhere" base and a pretty straightforward avalanche danger. As most of the midweek storm snow instabilities settle out, our attention turns to wet avalanches on steep, sunbaked slopes. As the snow starts to heat up you'll want to think about changing the type of terrain you're riding on, especially if roller balls start cascading down the slope or you find yourself sinking into damp, unsupportable snow. In addition, you need to avoid terrain traps like gullies and road cuts where even a small slide can quickly pile up cement-like, bone snapping debris.

Cornices have the potential to break back further than you might expect, especially during the heat of the day.


weather

We can expect slightly cooler temperatures today with highs in the low to mid 40's. West and northwest winds blow in the 20's and 30's along the high peaks and skies stay clear throughout the day. Another weak system bumps temperatures down a few degrees on Monday and might produce a flurry or two. Very warm for Tuesday with a sharp cold front arriving during the evening giving us a better chance of snow showers.

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.

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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 Apr. 1, 2015 or sooner if conditions warrant.