Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Tuesday - March 15, 2016 - 4:23am
bottom line

In the wind zone at and above treeline, a CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger exists and human triggered avalanches are likely on steep, wind drifted slopes, especially those that face the north half of the compass. Any slide that breaks to old snow near the ground has the potential to be deep and dangerous.

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

Still want to ride pow and have a great day? It's easy.... tone down your slope angles or simply boondock in the trees and meadows far away from anything steep.




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current conditions

Good shot of snow for the eastern front. Looks like 10" snow with .90 H20 and I Wanna Take You Higher. Still breezy along the ridges as we Dance to the Music. No news of the weird, but Considerable avy danger For Everyday People seems reasonable for both new and a few old snow issues. Happy B-Day Sly Stone... Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)

Or in other words... wow, yesterday's storm slammed into the region like a cross-fire hurricane. Wind, lightening, face bruising graupel... yep, that cold front had it goin' on. In its wake up to 10" of snow blanketed the range, temperatures are in the teens and single digits, and west-northwest winds are humming along the ridges at 25-35 mph. Wind sheltered terrain is the ticket today, where you'll be rewarded with deep, cold snow.

If you're confused by avalanche danger ratings, you're not alone. Check out a slick viddy describing how it all works.

Uinta weather station network info is found here.

Trip reports and observations are found here.

recent activity

Yesterday was a bit rugged and visibility was a gong show, but shallow, pockety wind drifts were reported on the leeward side of upper elevation ridges. From Sunday, a great snow and avy observation by John Mletschnig is found here

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

Winds have been all over the place during the storm and they have no shortage of new snow available to work with. Fresh snow coupled with yesterdays raging winds, rapidly formed drifts several feet deep. Found mostly on the leeward side of upper elevation ridges, I wouldn't be too surprised to also find fat, rounded pillows of snow, cross-loaded in terrain features like chutes and gullies as well as further downslope than you might expect. In either case, today's drifts are gonna be sensitive to the additional weight of a rider and once triggered, they're gonna be packing a punch. Most pronounced on upper elevation slopes facing northwest through south, I'd look for and avoid steep wind drifted slopes, especially if they feel or sound hollow like a drum.

Data from Windy Peak gives you a good idea of where yesterday's storm snow is found today.

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

Less obvious and certainly more dangerous is the possibility of triggering an avalanche that breaks to weak, sugary snow near the ground. While not widespread, fact is, we still have terrain that harbors weak snow. The usual suspects come to mind... steep, upper elevation, north facing slopes, especially those with a thin, weak snowpack need to be carefully evaluated. Or easier yet... just avoid this terrain, let it adjust to the storm, and have a blast rallying on low angle slopes with nothing steep above or connected to where you're riding.

Photo of weak sugary (faceted) snow found yesterday by John Mletschnig in the Mill Creek drainage. This photo is a good example of the weak snow still at the ground in many locations.

weather

We can expect on again, off again snow showers throughout the day with a few more inches stacking up. It'll feel like a return to winter with high temperatures only climbing into the low 20's and overnight lows crashing into the single digits. West and northwest winds howl in the 40's and 50's along the ridges before decreasing later in the day. A cold, northwest flow camps out over the region through Thursday, producing winter-like temperatures and a chance for light snow showers. High pressure returns for the weekend giving us warm, dry weather.

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 Wednesday, March 16th.