Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Thursday - December 29, 2016 - 3:41am
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At upper elevations, particularly in terrain with an easterly component to its aspect, the avalanche danger is MODERATE today and human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE on steep, wind drifted slopes. Once triggered, today's avalanches have the potential to break deeper and wider than you might expect.

Lose a little elevation and you lose the problem. Wind sheltered terrain and most south facing slopes offer generally LOW avalanche danger.




special announcement

Give the gift that keeps giving and help save a life by doing so. Sign up for one of our Riding Skills and Avy Awareness Workshops given by sledders... for sledders. We've got two workshops this year-

Thursday Jan 19th evening, followed by an on the snow field day Saturday Jan. 21st. Details here.

Thursday Feb. 9th evening, followed by an on the snow field day Saturday Feb. 11th. Details here.

current conditions

Above the valley fog, skies are clear and temperatures in the mid teens.... same as Salt Lake. Westerly winds have relaxed somewhat and are currently blowing 20-30 mph along the high ridges. Unfortunately, recent winds have had their way and most of our big open bowls took a hard hit. But lose a little elevation and you'll be treated to some of the best riding and turning conditions we've seen in a few years.


Anemometer... and the damage done. Wind speed, direction, and temperature taken from Windy Peak.

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

JG was in the Smith-Moorehouse zone Tuesday and found mostly stable snow in sheltered terrain with a little drifting and sensitive wind slab forming on upper elevation slopes. More on his travels and most excellent insight on our current snowpack can be found here.

More snowpack observations and trip reports are found here.

recent activity

With a little coaxing a few of my colleagues were able to initiate this wind slab Tuesday on a steep, upper elevation, wind drifted slope in Upper Weber Canyon. (C. Brown photo)

A full list of recent Uinta 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

While not particularly connected and a bit less sensitive than yesterday, today's drifts could none-the-less break a little deeper and wider than you might expect. With all the great riding in wind sheltered terrain, why pull on the dogs tail and take a chance on being bitten. I'd continue to avoid any fat, rounded piece of snow, especially if it sounds hollow like a drum.

However, if your travels take you into steep, committing terrain, tweak a few small test slopes or road cuts similar in aspect, elevation, and slope angle to what you want to ride. This feedback gives you a feel for the type of avalanche dragon you're dealing with. And remember- the big Christmas storm added a substantial amount of snow and water to the pack, especially on the south half of the range, and any avalanche triggered today has the potential to break into a variety of layers now buried several feet deep in our snowpack.


A quick visual scan of the ridges can help you determine where the wind's been blowing and the type of terrain you wanna avoid.

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

Overall our snowpack looks great and most slopes across the range are comfortable in their own skin. However, we do have a few problem children and terrain where the snowpack has remained thin all season, particularly steep, rocky, upper elevation slopes facing the north half of the compass should be considered suspect. Once triggered, an avalanche in terrain with these characteristics can easily get out of hand. If you're getting into the big north facing bowls, think about the consequences of triggering an avalanche that breaks to weak layers near the ground and at the very least, have an exit strategy.

When I think of a place that harbors weak snow and the potential to trigger a deep, dangerous avalanche, Currant Creek Peak always comes to mind. We took a spin out there Tuesday and found mostly supportable snow and a solid snowpack. But with all the great riding options available, there's no reason to tease this slope and roll the dice... this is exactly the type of complex terrain I'd steer clear of.

weather

High pressure builds for the rest of the week, leading to clear skies and warming temperatures. Westerly winds should start to relax as well, diminishing into the 20's as the day wares on. High temperatures reach into the high 30's with overnight low in the teens. A couple of weak storms dive to our south this weekend, with a stronger looking system slated to impact the region 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]

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 30th.