Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Thursday - March 9, 2017 - 3:23am
bottom line

In the wind zone, at and above treeline, you'll find pockets of MODERATE avalanche danger. While not widespread, human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE on steep, wind drifted, leeward terrain facing the north half of the compass, especially slopes with an easterly component to their aspect.

By afternoon, the danger for wet slides and sluffs increases to MODERATE and human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE on steep, sun-exposed, low elevation slopes.




current conditions

Under clear skies, temperatures cooled somewhat overnight and currently register in the 20's and low 30's. Southwest winds are blowing in the 30's and 40's along the high ridges. Recent winds have worked our big open bowls and the sun is baking low elevation terrain, but steer towards wind sheltered, mid elevation shady slopes and you'll be rewarded with cold, creamy snow.


Above... 24 hour data from Windy Peak and a very Phat Trial Lake snotel site.

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


Don't try this at home.... our main man Ted Scroggin was in Whitney Basin Tuesday and found great riding, predictable avalanche conditions, and lots of wind along the ridges. This guy knows the Uinta's like no other. More on his thoughts, travels, and insight can be found here.

Snowpack observations and trip reports are found here.
recent activity

No new avalanche activity to report from yesterday.

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

I think winds are starting to run out of snow to blow around, but I bet there's a rogue pocket or two lurking in the wind zone. Upper elevation, cross-loaded chutes, gullies, or bowl features are likely suspects. Remember- if you're getting into steep, commiting terrain, keep in mind that even a small slide can quickly ruin your day. So today you'll want to look for and steer clear of both soft and hard, fat rounded pieces of snow, particularly if they feel or sound hollow like a drum. The good news is... this is an easy avalanche problem to avoid. Simply lose some elevation, get into wind sheltered terrain, and you not only lose the problem, you get some great riding in to boot... not a bad deal!
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

Corni... they come in all shapes and sizes and some are larger than others. In either case, these unpredictable pieces of snow are breaking further back than you might expect and you definitely don't want to be on the receiving end of one of these boxcar-like monsters.

Pictured above, the crew in Upper Weber Canyon gettin' er done, as they safely and methodically.... swing by the Morrison Hotel, grab an LA Woman, and break on through to the other side.
Avalanche Problem 3
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

The sun is high in the sky and it's penetrating all aspects at lower elevations. If you're feeling like an ant under a magnifying glass, so is the snow. This is the time of year when you wanna think about your late in the day, low elevation exit strategy. As the snow turns damp and manky, you'll need to avoid terrain traps like gullies and road cuts where cement-like debris can stack up very deeply.
weather

High pressure over the region gives us mostly sunny skies with temperatures warming into the 40's. Along the high peaks, westerly winds blow in the 40's this morning, but should decrease throughout the day. We might see a snow shower or two late Friday as a weak cold front slides through the region, otherwise pretty quiet in the weather department.
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 March 10th.