Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Saturday - January 30, 2016 - 4:27am
bottom line

At and above treeline, in mid and upper elevation terrain, the avalanche danger is HIGH and both human triggered and natural avalanches are certain on steep, wind drifted slopes, especially those facing the north half of the compass. Any avalanche that breaks to weak, sugary snow near the ground has the potential to be deep and dangerous.

Even lower elevation terrain is stacking up dense, heavy snow and a CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger exists. Human triggered avalanches are likely on steep slopes with recent deposits of wind drifted snow.

Here's the good news, we've got an exit strategy. It doesn't mean we can't ride... it does mean we need to tone down our objectives and our slope angles, and simply stay off of and out from under steep, wind drifted terrain. We can have a blast carving deep trenches in wide open meadows, far away from anything steep hanging above us.
avalanche warning

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

* TIMING...THROUGH 6 AM SUNDAY MORNING.

* AFFECTED AREA...ALL THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS OF UTAH.

* AVALANCHE DANGER...IS HIGH...NATURAL AND HUMAN TRIGGERED SLIDES ARE CERTAIN TODAY.

* IMPACTS...DANGEROUS AVALANCHE CONDITIONS EXIST. TRAVELERS SHOULD AVOID STEEP SLOPES AND AVALANCHE RUNOUT ZONES...INCLUDING LOW ELEVATION SLOPES. BACKCOUNTRY TRAVEL IN AVALANCHE TERRAIN IS NOT RECOMMENDED.
special announcement

Saturday 4:30pm - Brighton Resort hosts UAC Forecaster Craig Gordon for a special Know Before You Go awareness talk focused on the current backcountry conditions. Presentation will be held on 3rd floor of Alpine Rose Lodge and as always is free to attend.

In addition, we installed a new beacon checker at the Soapstone Trailhead and Beacon Basin is up and running at Nobletts.... thanks to Trace and Miles!
current conditions

A good shot of snow is settling in over the region and it looks like the Mirror Lake corridor came on strong overnight, stacking up 8" of fairly high density snow. Most other mountain locations are reporting 4"-6" of new snow. Temperatures are warm, registering in at a balmy 30 degrees at most locations, in the mid 20's along the high ridges. Winds... yep as you might've guessed, ramped up from the southwest Friday and blew in the 30's and 40's, cranking up a notch or two overnight and are currently blowing 35-60 mph along the high peaks. There's lots of wind funk at the upper elevations, but lose some vertical, set your sights on wind sheltered terrain, and you'll be treated to soft, creamy snow.

Trip reports and observations are found here.
recent activity

Close call on the southern half of the range Thursday near Currant Creek Peak where the pack is slightly thinner. This sled triggered slide broke to the ground in steep, rocky, wind loaded terrain. One rider is completely buried with a hand sticking out. Wiggling fingers above the debris, clue partners to his location and a rescue quickly ensues. All is good at the end of the day, but this avalanche is a perfect example of the tricky persistent slab avalanche problem we're dealing with right now. More on the slide found here. (Thanks to Jeff Turner for the great info and photos!)

Recent avalanche observations are 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

By late Friday afternoon, southwest winds were cranking, creating widespread drifts sensitive to the additional weight of a rider. With fresh snow to work with overnight, the landscape looks much differant this morning and today's slabs are deeper and more widespread. Here's the tricky part... while the snow may feel solid under our skis, board, or sled we gotta think not only about what we're riding in, but also what we're riding on and quick frankly, it's a bit complex out there. Here's why... we've got a myriad of weak layers, some of them are buried near the surface under last night's storm, some of them buried deeper in the snowpack, near the ground. The big take home point is this- once triggered today's avalanches have the potential to break deep and wide, failing on old sugary layers of snow near the ground and taking out the entire seasons snowpack. The most likely terrain to trigger a deep, dangerous slide are steep slopes facing the north half of the compass, particularly slopes that avalanched big during the Solstice Storm.

It's tricky out there and this is what we're dealing with. Two close calls this week with avalanches breaking to the ground. (Dickerson and Turner photos)
weather

West and southwest winds nuke in the 50's and 60's, with a few gusts in the 70's for a few more hours, before switching to the west and northwest and gradually decreasing from mid morning through this evening. Snow, heavy at times continues through much of the day, before turning showery and ending tonight. Expect additional accumulations in the 6"-8" range. Temperatures fall throughout the day with overnight lows crashing into the single digits. A break in the action on Sunday, and then a powerful winter storm is expected for Southern and Central Utah Sunday night and Monday.. Unfortunately, I think this one may dive a little too far south to have any significant impacts on our region.
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 Sunday, January 31st.