Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Thursday - March 16, 2017 - 3:43am
bottom line

This morning the avalanche danger is generally LOW. As the sun softens the snow surface, 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 cold front this morning is ushering in high clouds and temperatures are a couple degrees cooler than yesterday at this time, registering in the low to mid 30's. Winds switched to the southwest and increased around lunchtime yesterday and are currently blowing 35-45 mph along the high ridges. Riding and turning conditions are aspect and elevation dependent.

Corn curious? I thought you were and here's the scoop. Upper elevation sunny slopes are still slightly punchy, but the corn harvest is in full swing on low and mid elevation south facing terrain. On the north half of the compass, it's hit or miss, though you'll still find patches of dense, "hot" powder on wind sheltered, upper elevation slopes.


Above... 24 hour data from Windy Peak (10,600') and the Trial Lake snotel site (9,992') reflecting a marginal refreeze.

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


Wow... the Uinta's are white and the views... well they're stunning!

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

Last night's refreeze provides enough supportability for a good portion of the day. This morning the snow surface is firm and crunchy, so you'll definately need to drop the scratchers. If you're looking for soft snow right out of the gates, start off on east or southeast facing terrain and then just follow the sun around, ending on west facing slopes at the end of the day. Remember- this is the time of year when you wanna think about your late in the day, exit strategy. As the snow turns damp, manky, or unsupportable 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

Skies begin to clear this morning and temperatures rise into the upper 40's. West and southwest winds blow in the 30's and 40's with gusts to 50 mph along the high ridges. Under clear skies tonight, lows dip into the low 30's. High pressure builds for the end of the week and it'll be unseasonably warm and windy on Saturday. A cold front slides through the region Sunday, giving us a shallow coat of white paint.
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 17th.