Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Thursday - December 17, 2015 - 5:45am
bottom line

At and above treeline the avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE and human triggered avalanches are likely. Within this elevation band you'll find terrain with a HIGH avalanche danger, especially steep, wind drifted slopes with an easterly component to their aspect. In either case, any slide triggered today has the potential to break wider and deeper than you might expect creating a dangerous avalanche.

You'll find a MODERATE avalanche danger at mid elevations and human triggered avalanches are possible on steep, wind drifted slopes.

Low elevations and terrain sheltered from the wind generally offers a LOW avalanche danger.




avalanche warning

THE FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER IN SALT LAKE CITY HAS ISSUED A BACKCOUNTRY AVALANCHE WARNING.

* TIMING...THROUGH 6 AM FRIDAY MORNING.

* AFFECTED AREA...THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS INCLUDING THE WASATCH...THE LOGAN AREA MOUNTAINS...AND THE WESTERN UINTA MOUNTAINS.

* AVALANCHE DANGER...HIGH WITH NATURAL AVALANCHES OCCURRING.

* IMPACTS...RECENT SNOWFALL AND STRONG WINDS HAVE CREATED A HIGH AVALANCHE DANGER. TRAVEL IN AVALANCHE TERRAIN IS NOT RECOMMENDED. STAY OFF OF AND OUT FROM UNDER SLOPES STEEPER THAN 30 DEGREES.

current conditions

Last nights quick hitting system delivered 6"-8" of snow across the range, but the big news are the winds. Right around dinnertime west and northwest winds ramped up into the 30's and 40's, reaching a cresendo late in the evening with winds raging into the 60's and 70's. They're starting to relax somewhat and this will be the trend throughout the day. Under clearing skies it's cold with temperatures in the single digits.

JG's pit from yesterday clearly illustrates our current snowpack setup.

More on his travels are found here.

Recent trip reports and observations are found here.

recent activity

Michael J was on Hoyt Peak yesterday, stomped on this steep Northeast facing slope at about 10,200' in elevation, and intentionally triggered this slide. Not huge, but the thing that grabs my attention is that it breaks to weak snow near the ground. Michael's first hand account is found here.

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

It's game on as wind is always the great equalizer on the eastern front. By all accounts, last night's sytem didn't dissapoint as winds cranked in the 40's and 50's along the ridges. With plenty of light density snow to blow around, I suspect todays drifts are several feet deep and now more connected than they have been all season. I don't think avalanche conditions will be hair-trigger, as a matter of fact I bet it'll be tricky today and steep slopes may allow you to get well out onto them before they fail and you trigger a slide. In addition, you may be able to trigger avalanches from the flats or from a distance, so you'll want to be aware of what kind of terrain is above you and what you're connected to. That fact is... we have strong snow on weak snow and this is a spooky setup. No matter how you cut it, once initiated, today's avalanches can easily break to weak snow near the ground resulting in a large, dangerous slide. The most likely place to encounter these conditions is going to be in terrain at or above tree line, especially on slopes with an easterly component to their aspect. Remember- any slide that breaks to ground will reveal a nasty array of trauma inducing, season ending obstacles.

weather

Snow showers die down this morning and northwest winds should taper into the teens and 20's along the ridges. Temperatures climb into the 20's and a strong warming trend is forecast through tomorrow as a warm front slides through the region with a light snow shower or two. A cold front will bring another shot of show Saturday night into Sunday. Early next week continues to appear unsettled with the potential of seeing high water content, significant snowfall, along with very strong winds.

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]. To register for the first in our series of on-the-snow sled specific classes you can register here.

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 be will be updated by 7:00 AM on Friday, December 18th.