Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Wednesday - January 18, 2017 - 3:25am
bottom line

In the wind zone, at and above treeline pockets of MODERATE avalanche danger exists. While making up a small portion of the terrain available to ride in today, fresh wind slabs will be reactive to our additional weight and human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE on steep, wind drifted slopes, especially those on the leeward side of upper elevation ridges. Remember- any avalanche that breaks to weaker snow, now buried deep in the snowpack will get out of hand quickly, resulting in a dangerous slide.

Wind sheltered mid and lower elevation terrain offers green light conditions and in general, a LOW avalanche danger.
special announcement

Thursday 1/19 - Utah Adventure Journal hosts professional adventure skier Brody Leven as he presents on a recent trip to the remote Tien Shan Mountains of Kazakhstan to attempt steep first descents on massive, remote peaks. More Details here.
current conditions

Skies are clear and temperatures in the mid to upper 20's. Winds are light and generally blowing out of the north at speeds of 10-15 mph along the high ridges. The trailheads have been packed and that means most popular riding areas got hammered. However, think outside the box a bit and you'll not only be rewarded with amazing views, but I bet you find 5 star riding and turning conditions along the way.

Remarkably PHAT... probably hasn't been this white for sometime. I'm thinking 1992/93 is the last time the Uinta's had similar coverage. Ted stomped around Mirror Lake yesterday. Click here for his take on things.

Surface hoar... this fragile and notoriously tricky crystal (similar to dew that grows on our lawn) has formed nearly everywhere and it might become a dangerous player in our snowpack if it gets preserved and buried. Something to keep an eye on later this week as weather turns more stormy. A viddy explaining our current state of snowpack affairs is found here.

At 74 years young, my partner Jeff Duenwald is the real deal and a true, big mountain BA (big alpinist :) In the image above, Jeff is holding an intact crust from a south facing slope that has surface hoar growing on it.

Additional snowpack observations and trip reports are found here.

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

No recent avalanche activity to report.

A full list of 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

In high alpine terrain in the wind zone, recent north and northeast winds have created fresh drifts, sensitive to our additional weight. Found mostly near and along the leeward side of upper elevation ridges, I bet there's a pocket or two that formed around a terrain feature like a chute or gully wall. In any case, today's shallow slabs will predictably break at or below our skis, boards, or sleds.

In addition, cornices have grown large and may break back further than you might expect. Your best bet with these boxcar monsters is to give 'em lots of distance.
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

Not as predictable and certainly less manageable is any avalanche that breaks to weaker snow, now buried several feet deep in the mid portion of our snowpack. The good news is... time, settlement, and snowpit tests all indicate the pack is healing and much of our terrain offers a deep, strong snowpack. However, the Uinta's are a big range and I'm not entirely convinced there isn't a rogue slope or two that's just waiting for us to come along and knock the legs out from underneath it. Remember- all we need to do is find a weaknesses in the slab, collapse that slope, and now we're staring down the barrel of a very dangerous avalanche. It doesn't mean you can't get after it. It does mean that if you're charging hard today, think about the consequences of triggering a slide. Have a solid game plan and exit strategy in place and make sure to communicate that with your partners.

Steep, unforgiving places like Bald Mountain, pictured above, is the kind of terrain where you could trigger a small avalanche that breaks into deeper buried weak layers as snow crashes down on the slope below.
weather

Today we can look for sunny skies, light winds, and temperatures rising into the mid and upper 30's. Increasing clouds late in the day usher in the first in a series of storm systems. Snow develops Thursday with 4"-8" expected, then a bit of a break Friday/Saturday before a more stormy period develops for late in the weekend.
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 Thursday January 19th.