Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Wednesday - March 16, 2016 - 4:23am
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In the wind zone at and above treeline, a MODERATE avalanche danger exists and human triggered avalanches are possible 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 break deeper and wider than you might expect.

Out of the wind the avalanche danger is generally LOW.




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current conditions

The North Slope squeezed an additional 4" of very light density, cold smoke out of yesterdays storm system, bumping storm totals to 14" with an inch of H2O. About half that amount stacked up on the southern half of the range. Skies began to clear late last night allowing temperatures to dip into the low teens and single digits. Along the high ridges, westerly winds are still busy at work blowing 25-40 mph. On a go-anywhere base, riding and turning conditions are about as good as they get.

Ted was in Whitney Basin yesterday and confirmed the riding condtions. Yep... it's over-the-head and over-the-hood. More on his travels here. (Scroggin photo)

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's cornices and shallow soft slabs were very reactive to the additional weight of a person, but generally manageable and confined to the leeward side of mid and upper elevation terrain. Here Westin Deutschlander takes a look at a recently triggered new snow avalanche in upper Weber Canyon. (Kikkert photo)

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 storm totals are impressive, water weight is pretty underwhelming and our recent round of snow is about as light as it gets. As far as the snowpack is concerned... that's good news. However, it didn't take much wind to whip yesterday's super light density snow into drifts, sensitive to the additional weight of a rider. Fortunately, today's shallow wind drifts are confined to steep leeward slopes at and above treeline and predictably break at or below your skis, board, or sled. While generally manageable in size, remember... even a small slide can take you for a fast, body bruising ride, and can quickly ruin your day, especially in steep, committing, technical terrain.


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 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.

weather

We might see a flurry or two, but in general the storm is out of here and headed east. West and northwest winds blow in the 30's and 40's with gusts in the 50's along the highest peaks, but should diminish as the day wares on. Under mostly sunny skies, afternoon high temperatures climb into the mid 20's, with overnight lows in the teens. Warm and dry through the weekend with another storm on tap for early next week.

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 Thursday, March 17th.