Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Thursday - December 15, 2016 - 3:55am
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At mid and upper elevations, the avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE today. Human triggered avalanches are probable and natural avalanches possible on steep, wind drifted slopes facing the north half of the compass. Once triggered, today's avalanches have the potential to be deep and dangerous.

Mid elevations have seen their fair share of wind and a MODERATE avalanche danger exists. Human triggered avalanches are possible on steep slopes with recent deposits of wind drifted snow.

Low angle, wind sheltered slopes with nothing steep above or adjacent to where you're riding and most terrain facing the south half of the compass offers LOW avalanche danger.




special announcement

Huge thanks to The Alpine Collective, the USSA Center of Excellence, and everyone who came out for last night's avy awareness presentation. Y'all created a great vibe, in a beautiful venue, with lots of stoke... and I appreciate all the support!

current conditions

Yesterday's warm, wet, windy system delivered 6" of snow, helping to add a uniformly distributed new coat of paint across the range. Southwest winds have been relentlessly blowing in the 40's and 50's along high ridges since early yesterday morning and are still cranking. In addition, temperatures have risen into the low 30's overnight. Upper elevation snow is wind damaged and a bit funky, but get into some wind sheltered trees at lower elevations and you'll be rewarded with soft, creamy snow.

Real time wind, snow, and temperatures for the Uinta's are found here.

Recent observations are found here.

recent activity

Visibility was poor yesterday, but shallow soft slabs breaking within the new storm snow were spotted on steep, wind drifted slopes throughout the range.

A full list of recent avalanche activity is found here.

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

The most obvious avalanche problem today are fresh wind drifts that formed yesterday and continued to grow overnight. Found mostly on the leeward side of upper elevation ridges, due to the strength of the winds and plenty of fresh snow to work with, don't be too surprised to find these lurking at mid elevations as well. Easy to identify by their fat, rounded appearance, today's wind drifts are gonna pack a punch and may break wider and deeper than you might expect. Let slope angle be your friend. There's lots of great low angle riding out there and you can have a blast boondocking in trees and still find deep, floaty snow.

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

Found mostly on steep, rocky, mid and upper elevation slopes facing the north half of the compass, todays slabs may be harder to initiate, but once triggered, have the potential to break into weak layers now buried deep in our snowpack. And remember- any slide triggered that breaks into older snow near the ground, will take you for a body bruising ride through stumps, rocks, or deadfall, instantly ruining your day.

weather

There's a winter storm on our doorstep and this thing is tightly wound. Today look for increasing clouds, temperatures rising into the low 40's, and very strong winds gusting into the 60's by late in the day. Snow gets going tonight and we can look forward to 6"-8" overnight. A cold front arrives midday tomorrow, and we can expect high snowfall rates, a chance for lightning, and snow levels quickly lowering to valley floor. Storm totals by Saturday morning should be in the 12"-18" range.

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]

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 Friday December 16th.