Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Saturday - February 13, 2016 - 4:22am
bottom line

At and above treeline, a MODERATE avalanche danger exists and human triggered avalanches are possible on steep, shady slopes. Any avalanche that breaks to weak, sugary snow near the ground has the potential to be deep and dangerous.

If the sun comes out in earnest today, steep sunny slopes may become damp and soggy and the danger of wet slides and sluffs increases to MODERATE with daytime heating.

Wind and sun sheltered terrain under 30 degrees in slope steepness is the ticket for finding both LOW avalanche danger and great riding conditions.
special announcement

Join us next Tuesday for a companion rescue workshop hosted by our good friends at Weller Recreation. Should be a great time - Click here for more details and to register.

Sure... you wouldn't wanna meet this crew in a dark alley, but I'd like to give 'em all a big shout out for making yesterday's Sled 101 at Wolf Creek Ranch a brilliant success. Rock on Sugi fam, Trent, Bo, Tyler, Austin, and Seth!
current conditions

Clouds are drifting into the region, ahead of a weak system slated to brush-by the northern half of the state. Temperatures are in the mid to upper 20's and southwest winds are blowing 10-25 mph along the high peaks. It's a mixed bag for sure... crusted snow on the sunny aspects and old tracks nearly everywhere. However, with a little bit of exploring you can still find soft settled snow on shady north facing slopes.

Left photo - showing the soft settled powder on the north facing terrain. Right photo - sun crust that is found on all other aspects. (Photo: JG)

Trip reports and observations are found here.
recent activity

No new avalanche activity has been reported from the backcountry.

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

A solid overnight freeze coupled with increased cloud cover today will help temper the wet avalanche activity. But of course, the sun is getting high in the sky these days and if it does come out for any length of time and you find yourself sinking into damp, gloppy snow, you'll want to consider getting off of and out from under steep sunny slopes. In addition, avoid terrain traps like gullies and road cuts where avalanche debris can pile up very deeply.

Ted Scroggin out doing some field work Thursday snapped a great couple photos of these point release (loose snow) avalanches.

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 it's becoming harder to trigger a deep, dangerous avalanche, we're still finding places that have weak sugary snow near the ground with stronger, more dense snow resting on top. Steep terrain that faces the north half of the compass, at or above tree line, and particularly slopes that previously avalanched during the big Solstice Storm should be considered suspect and still need to be carefully evaluated.

This avalanche in upper Whitney Basin was triggered on Tuesday in a steep, rocky section of the slope. While it's becoming less likely to trigger a slide of this nature, a piece of snow this size can definately ruin your day. (Kikkert photo)
weather

A weak system grazes northern Utah today bringing clouds, slightly cooler temperatures, and stronger winds. Highs reach into the low 40's with overnight lows dipping into the 20's. West and southwest blow in the 20's and 30's with gusts to 50 mph along the high peaks. Another weak system slides through on Sunday with a chance of snow.
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 If Craig is unavailable you can reach his partner Trent at 801-455-7239, email [email protected] 

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 will be updated by 7:00 AM on Sunday, February 14th.