Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Thursday - February 4, 2016 - 4:24am
bottom line

At and above treeline, especially in the wind zone, pockets of CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger exist and human triggered avalanches are likely on steep, wind drifted slopes. Any avalanche that breaks to weak, sugary snow near the ground has the potential to be deep and dangerous.

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

Wind sheltered terrain is the ticket for finding both LOW avalanche danger and cold, deep snow.




special announcement

Next Tuesday February 9th - Weller Recreation will be hosting the UAC for a Companion Rescue Fundamentals course from 6:30-9pm. We’ll talk about scene assessment, beacon searching, probing, strategic shoveling and preparing an injured partner for transport. For more info click here.
current conditions

The last in a series of weak storms grazes the region today with cloudy skies, light snow, and continued cold temperatures. Currently, temperatures are near zero degrees, skies are mostly cloudy, and an inch or two of very light density snow fell overnight. West-northwest winds ramped up around 3:00 yesterday afternoon and are currently blowing 25-35 mph along the high peaks. Recent cold temperatures and a couple inches of snow go a long way. The riding and turning conditions are exeptionally good, especially in mid and low elevation, wind sheltered terrain.

Trip reports and observations are found here.
recent activity

This natural slide occurred as a result of the big east wind event earlier this week. While the crown is filled in, the common theme remains the same. This is a steep northeast facing slope and is a "repeater"... meaning it avalanched to the ground early this season.

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

While there's not a tremendous amount of fresh snow for winds to work with today, it never ceases to amaze me how just a little wind can find enough loose snow and whip it into drifts sensitive to the additional weight of a rider. I think that'll be the case today, so don't be surprised to find a fresh slab not only along the leeward side of upper elevation ridges, but also cross-loaded in terrain features like chutes, gullies, and sub-ridges. Any fresh drift in the wind zone has the potential to break deeper and wider than you might expect. Easy to detect by their fat rounded appearance, I'd avoid steep, wind drifted slopes today especially if the snow feels or sounds hollow like a drum.
Avalanche Problem 2
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

While both new and old wind drifts are today's most obvious and straight-forward avalanche problem, don't get complacent thinking this is the only avalanche dragon out there. As a matter of fact, more dangerous and less predictable, is any slide that breaks to weak layers of snow near the ground. The most likely terrain to trigger a deep, dangerous slide are steep slopes facing the north half of the compass, particularly those that avalanched big during the Solstice Storm.

Perfect example of what we're dealing with right now. Fresh wind slab that once initiated, quickly breaks to old snow near the ground.
weather

A weak weather system brings cold temperatures, periods of snow through the day today with 1"-3" expected, and northwest winds in the 20's and 30's, with gusts in the 40's and 50's along the high peaks. A brief break is expected late afternoon through evening, before a second system grazes the area overnight with similar accumulations and overnight lows in the single digits. High pressure and warming temperatures are on tap starting Friday and continuing through the weekend.
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, February 5th.