Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Saturday - January 21, 2017 - 3:44am
bottom line

In the wind zone, at and above treeline, pockets of MODERATE avalanche danger exist. Fresh wind slabs reactive to our additional weight 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.

Lose some elevation and you lose the problem. Wind sheltered mid and lower elevation terrain offers green light conditions and in general, LOW avalanche danger.




current conditions

A nice little shot of snow rolled through the region overnight, delivering 4" of ultra-light density snow. Southerly winds bumped into the 30's and 40's just after dinnertime yesterday, but have backed off into the 20's and 30's early this morning. Temperatures are in the teens and low 20's. Our shallow coat of white paint helped soften some of the crusts and old tracks, and today you'll find excellent riding and turning conditions especially on low angle, wind sheltered, shady slopes.

Along with these frosty trees, Ted found good riding conditions and stable snow in the Whitney Basin yesterday. More on his travels are found here.

Additional snowpack observations and trip reports are found here.


Above... a 24 hour run of the Windy Peak weather station.

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

recent activity

Before the winds picked up, shallow sluffs on steep slopes were the only game in town yesterday. (​Janulaitis photo)

A full list of Uinta avalanche activity is found here.



Dave Kikkerts beautiful snow crystal images are magnified and illustrate flawless stellars that fell straight out of the sky preserving surface hoar and near surface facets in wind sheltered terrain.


Ted Scroggins image shows what this combo looks like to the naked eye. Not widespread, but this tricky setup is something to keep an eye on with a good shot of snow on tap for early next week.

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

Southerly winds increased around midday Friday, finding plenty of light density snow to whip into fresh drifts, sensitive to our additional weight. Found mostly near and along the leeward side of upper elevation ridges, today's shallow slabs will predictably break at or below our skis, boards, or sleds.



Not a big slab by any means, but might trip you up in steep, radical, unforgiving terrain. (Scroggin photo)

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

I think you'd really have to go out of your way to hunt down terrain where you could trigger a slide that breaks into weak snow now buried several feet under the snow surface, but the Uinta's are a big range with lots of variations. While it's highly unlikey, remember- all we need to do is find a weaknesses in the slab, collapse that slope, and now we've got something unmanageable to deal with. The usual suspects come to mind... steep, rocky terrain with a thin, weak snowpack. 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. (T. Scroggin photo)

weather

A moist, cold disturbance brings steady snow today, diminishing this evening. Temperatures climb into the upper 20's and winds switch to the west and northwest throughout the day, blowing into the 30's along the high ridges. After dying down tonight, winds ramp up out of the southwest late tonight ahead of a better defined storm that affects the region tomorrow afternoon through Monday. Significant accumulations are expected.

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 January 22nd.