Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Sunday - November 22, 2015 - 5:28am
bottom line

In general the avalanche danger is LOW and human triggered avalanches are unlikely.




special announcement

Huge thanks to Wasatch County SAR for hosting last nights avy awareness clinic. To register for the first in our series of on-the-snow sled specific classes you can register here.

current conditions

Skies are clear, northerly winds are blowing 15-20 mph along the high peaks, and temperatures are in the low 20's. Thursday nights quick hitting storm favored the North Slope with close to a foot of snow, while the south half of the range didn't get invited to the powder party. None-the-less, early season conditions abound, and with only 18"-24" of total snow on the ground, riding and turning is limited to rock free meadows and roads.

Our western Uinta weather station network is up and running. Click here for real time snow,winds, and temperatures.

North facing terrain is white from far...

... but far from white.

Winter is still out on sabbatical at the lower elevations.

Thanks to Tyler St. Jeor and Ted Scroggin for the most excellent observations and pictures. Their recent trip reports are found here.

recent activity

No recent avalanche activity to report, but we are posting observations from the backcountry on a daily basis now. See or trigger an avalanche? Shooting cracks? Hear a collapse? It's simple. Go here to fill out an observation.

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

For the moment, avalanche conditions are pretty straight-forward, the danger is generally LOW, and the biggest hazard out there right now is slamming into an obstacle barely hidden under our shallow snow pack. Of course, LOW avalanche danger doesn't mean NO avalanche danger. The most likely place to trigger a slide today is gonna be limited to steep, wind drifted terrain at and above treeline, especially slopes with an easterly component to their aspect. Remember- it's super shallow out there right now and triggering even a small slide could take you for a nasty ride through rocks and stumps.

It's a shallow snowpack for sure, but thankfully there's a little bit of body or structure this year... it's not just a weak sugary mess like we've seen in previous years.

weather

A couple more beautiful days are on tap. For Sunday and Monday we can expect sunny skies, westerly winds 10-20 mph along the high peaks, and temperatures climbing into the mid 30's. High clouds drift into the region Tuesday and southwest winds start to crank ahead of a solid looking cold front that'll impact the region on Wednesday. The computer models are starting to agree on a solution and it looks like we'll get a good dose of snow starting late in the morning Wednesday, along with much colder temperatures. Snow is slated for Thanksgiving and should linger into early Friday. I'll have more details for Wednesday's update.

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]

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.

The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but I will update this advisory by 7:00 AM on Wednesday November 25th.