Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Tuesday - March 21, 2017 - 4:03am
bottom line

With a shallow refreeze, the avalanche danger rises to MODERATE and human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE early in the day. As the snow surface heats up, you'll want to get off of and out from under on all steep, sun-exposed slopes. Once triggered, today's wet slides may fan out, entraining more snow than you might expect.




current conditions

Skies are clear, temperatures in the low to mid 30's, though a few hot spots (like Chalk Creek... below) report overnight lows in the 40's. Southwest winds have ramped up somewhat and are blowing 30-45 mph along the high ridges. Riding and turning conditions are a bit underwhelming and our snowpack has taken a bit of a hit. In the past week we've lost about a foot of snow depth. Cloud cover, warm overnight temperatures, and wind will most likely inhibit today's corn harvest. But wait... there's more! There's a change in the pattern slated for later today through the weekend and winter returns from its hiatus. In the meantime, it's probably a good day to take off and get your taxes done :)


Above... 24 hour data from Windy Peak (10,600') and the Chalk Creek snotel site (8,993') reflecting a marginal overnight refreeze.

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


Michael J was near Trial Lake and Mt. Watson over the weekend. He found a mostly stable snowpack and excellent riding conditions on upper elevation slopes. More on his trip report found here.

Snowpack observations and trip reports are found here.
recent activity

No new avalanche activity 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

Today's wet avalanche activity largely depends on the balance of sun, cloud cover, and wind. 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. Remember- this is the time of year when you wanna think about your end of the day exit strategy.

More the rule than the execption... Dan found this wet avalanche Friday on an east facing slope near the Mirror Lake Highway at appoximately 10,000'.
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



This years corni are beautiful and they come in all shapes and sizes, some are larger than others. In either case, these unpredictable pieces of snow are releasing on their own accord and breaking further back than you might expect. Of course, you don't want to be on the receiving end of one of these boxcar-like monsters.

weather

Warm and windy with mostly cloudy skies and highs reaching into the 50's. Southwest winds crank into the 50's and snow showers develop tonight, as a cold front slides through the region. A broad cold and wet storm is slated for Wednesday and Thursday with a foot of snow a good bet by dinnertime Thursday. A break in the action on Friday with another storm for the weekend and early next week.
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 Wednesday March 22nd.