Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Sunday - March 12, 2017 - 4:29am
bottom line

This morning the avalanche danger is generally LOW. If the sun comes out, the danger for wet slides and sluffs increases to MODERATE and human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE on all steep, sun-exposed, slopes.




current conditions

A weak storm is sliding through the area and clouds started obscuring the big, bright beautiful moon late last night. Temperatures hover right around freezing and westerly winds are blowing 40-60 mph along the high ridges. Cloud cover and temperatures might preempt today's corn harvest. However, if the sun pokes out, your best bet is on low and mid elevation south facing terrain. On the north half of the compass, you'll still find patches of cold creamy snow on wind sheltered, upper elevation slopes.


Above... 24 hour data from Windy Peak and the Currant Creek snotel site, reflecting a lot of snow and water for the southern half of the range.

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


About as white as it gets... somewhere under that white lump is the Wolf Creek Campground outhouse.

Snowpack observations and trip reports are found here.

Huge thanks to BCA and all of you for helping to support the Are You Beeping, beacon checking program. Located near the Noblett's Trailhead, this is just one of the checkpoints you'll see at major trailheads throughout the range.
recent activity


Thick as a brick... Ted was in Humpy Basin Thursday and found these massive chunks of corni that broke off naturally, triggering a small soft slab. More on his travels here.

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

Forecasting wet avalanche activity is a delicate balance of overnight low temperatures, forecasted daytime high temperatures, and cloud cover. While our overnight lows don't reflect a deep, solid refreeze, I think we had enough clearing late yesterday to help the snowpack cool off sufficiantly. Add some strong winds and a bit of morning cloud cover to the mix, and I bet the snow surface is pretty locked up. So this morning, the avalanche danger is generally LOW and the riding conditions... well, a bit underwhelming.

However, if we do clear out for any length of time remember- the sun is high in the sky and it's penetrating nearly every aspect and elevation. This is the time of year when you wanna think about your late in the day, exit strategy. As the snow turns damp and manky, you'll need to get off of and out from under steep, sunny slopes and avoid terrain traps like gullies and road cuts where tree snapping, cement-like debris can stack up very deeply.
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.

weather

A strong ridge building along the west coast sends a weak storm into the region, giving us clouds, westerly winds blowing in the 40's and 50's, and temperatures climbing into the low 40's. High pressure builds over the region this week and we'll see a solid shot of spring through Wednesday. A cool down with a little snow is slated to arrive Thursday, but it doesn't look like a big storm... maybe a couple inches. High and dry after that.
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 Monday March 13th.