Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Saturday - December 17, 2016 - 4:25am
bottom line

In the wind zone at upper elevations, the avalanche danger is HIGH today. Human triggered avalanches are LIKELY, especially on steep, wind drifted slopes facing the north half of the compass. Once triggered, today's avalanches have the potential to be deep, dangerous, and unsurvivable.

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

At low elevations a MODERATE danger exists and human triggered slides are POSSIBLE on steep, wind drifted slopes.

Looking for LOW avalanche danger? You can have a blast in big open meadows or simply stick to slopes facing the south half of the compass that have no old snow issues.
avalanche warning

THE FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER IN SALT LAKE CITY HAS ISSUED A BACKCOUNTRY AVALANCHE WARNING.

* TIMING…IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM MST THIS MORNING TO 6 AM MST SUNDAY MORNING

* AFFECTED AREA…WESTERN UINTA MOUNTAINS.

* AVALANCHE DANGER…THE AVALANCHE DANGER FOR THE WARNING AREA WILL REMAIN HIGH TODAY.

* IMPACTS…YESTERDAY'S HEAVY SNOW AND STRONG WINDS CREATED WIDESPREAD AREAS OF UNSTABLE SNOW. HUMAN TRIGGERED AVALANCHES ARE LIKELY TODAY IN STEEP TERRAIN, ESPECIALLY AT THE UPPER ELEVATIONS. STAY OFF OF AND OUT FROM UNDER SLOPES STEEPER THAN 30 DEGREES.

BACKCOUNTRY TRAVELERS SHOULD CONSULT WWW.UTAHAVALANCHECENTER.ORG OR CALL 1-888-999-4019 FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION.

THIS WARNING DOES NOT APPLY TO SKI AREAS WHERE AVALANCHE HAZARD REDUCTION MEASURES ARE PERFORMED.
current conditions

Yesterday's storm slammed into the western Uinta's like a crossfire hurricane. Rain, snow, raging winds, and yes... even thunder snow! In it's wake nearly two feet of snow has pasted the region with just over 2" of water. Under mostly cloudy skies, light snow is falling and temperatures are in the single digits. West and north west winds are blowing 10-20 mph with a few gusts in the 30's along the high ridges. Despite all the weather of the weird, you can still find soft creamy snow, but it'll have to be on very wind sheltered low and mid elevation slopes.

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

Recent observations are found here.
recent activity

This avalanche was triggered by a small piece of cornice falling onto the steep, north facing slope below. It triggered a fresh wind drift, which quickly broke into old snow near the ground. More on this slide found here. (C.Brown photo)

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

No reason to geek out with technical terms, avalanche geek-speak, or metaphors regarding the avalanche danger today. If you trigger an avalanche that breaks to old snow near the ground you're smoked... done... you don't get to enjoy the holidays with your family. 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 is going to be deep and dangerous. It has the potential to be unsurvivable.


Yeah, it spooky out there, but it doesn't mean we can't ride. It does mean we need to avoid being on, under, or adjacent to steep, mid and upper elevation slopes facing the north half of the compass.
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

Wind drifts along the leeward side of upper elevation ridges and around terrain features like chutes, gullies, and sub-ridges are today's second avalanche issue. They're easy to detect by their fat, rounded, humpback whale-like appearance and easy to avoid. Once triggered, a fresh wind drift can easily break deeper and wider than you might expect.


We triggered this fresh drift two days ago, just when the big storm was ramping up. It pales in comparison to today's avalanche dragon.
weather

The big storm is winding down this morning and a few scattered snow showers linger through mid morning. Temperatures barely crack into the low teens with overnight lows near -10 degrees. Northwest winds blow in the 20's and 30's along the high peaks. Clearing skies and slow warming is on tap for Sunday and Monday with a quick shot of snow slated for Tuesday.
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 Sunday December 18th.