Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Wednesday - January 10, 2018 - 3:05am
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HEADS UP... IT'S GONNA BE TRICKY TODAY!

In the wind zone at and above treeline the avalanche danger is HIGH. Both human triggered and natural avalanches are likely on steep, wind drifted slopes, especially those facing the north half of the compass.

Mid elevation terrain is equally as spooky where you'll find CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger. Human triggered avalanches are probable on steep slopes with recent deposits of wind drifted snow.

Looking for LOW avy danger? Most mid and low elevation south facing slopes and terrain that held no snow prior to the Christmas Eve storm offer generally LOW avalanche danger.




avalanche warning

THE FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER IN SALT LAKE CITY HAS ISSUED A BACKCOUNTRY AVALANCHE WARNING.

* TIMING…IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM MST THIS MORNING TO 6 AM MST THURSDAY

* AFFECTED AREA…FOR THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTHERN AND CENTRAL UTAH INCLUDING THE WASATCH RANGE...PROVO AREA MOUNTAINS...BEAR RIVER RANGE...WESTERN UINTA MOUNTAINS...WASATCH PLATEAU/MANTI SKYLINE...FISH LAKE AREA MOUNTAINS....

* AVALANCHE DANGER…THE AVALANCHE DANGER IS HIGH.

* IMPACTS…HEAVY SNOW HAS OVERLOADED THE PREEXISTING WEAK SNOW PACK. THE AVALANCHE DANGER IS HIGH AND BOTH HUMAN TRIGGERED AND NATURAL AVALANCHES ARE LIKELY. TRAVEL IN AVALANCHE TERRAIN IS NOT RECOMMENDED. AVALANCHES CAN BE TRIGGERED FROM A DISTANCE AND FROM BELOW. STAY OFF OF AND OUT FROM UNDER SLOPES STEEPER THAN 30 DEGREES.

BACKCOUNTRY TRAVELERS SHOULD CONSULT WWW.UTAHAVALANCHECENTER.ORG OR CALL 1-888-999-4019 FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION.

THIS WARNING DOES NOT APPLY TO SKI AREAS WHERE AVALANCHE HAZARD REDUCTION MEASURES ARE PERFORMED.

Click here to see what's going on with our snowpack.

special announcement

We still have a few open slots available for this weeks Motorized Backcountry 101 Workshop. Click here for more details and to register.

current conditions

It's cloudy, it's snowing, and yes... it's warm and windy. Currently, temperatures are in the low 30's and southerly winds are blowing 20-35 mph along the high ridges. 5" of snow stacked up in the past 24 hours, but more importantly are the water totals which are just shy of an inch. So, if you're running the numbers you quickly realize this isn't the stuff that makes our license plate moto famous. It's dense and it's heavy! Since Saturday, the range received nearly a foot of new snow. And while it's still super boney out there, riding and turning conditions have vastly improved.

Above are 24 hour temperatures and snow depth from Trial Lake along with winds and temperatures from Lofty Lake Peak. More remote Uinta weather stations are found here

Recent trip reports and findings can be seen here.

recent activity


Poor visibility limited what we could see yesterday, but sensitive wind drifts were reported on steep leeward slopes throughout the range. Click here to see recent avy activity.

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 cranked into the 40's and 50's yesterday and they've been blowing all night. With new snow to work with and more on the way, fresh wind drifts forming on the leeward side of upper elevation ridges are today's most obvious avalanche hazard. As the storm evolves, look for and avoid any recent deposit of wind drifted snow, especially if it's fat and rounded or sounds hollow like a drum. Once triggered, today's drifts may break deeper and wider than you might expect.

Ted placed his snow card at the interface where near surface facets, or weak sugary surface snow, is now buried and perserved under our latest storm. Right now, this layer is very reactive to our additional weight. (Scroggin photo)

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

While we haven't heard of or seen any slides breaking into weak layers buried in our midpack, the fact is...we've got a gong show for a snowpack. As a matter of fact, the current snowpack structure is unusual. Not only do we have weak faceted snow, there's a few crusts thrown in the mix and they're sandwiched in between this mini house of cards. Granted, our "persistent slab" issue has remained dormant for nearly a week, but with this recent round of snow, water, and wind I bet many steep slopes are in the balance today, just waiting for a trigger like us to roll up and knock the legs out from underneath it. Making the current setup even more tricky is the possibility of triggering a slide from low on the slope, from a distance, or even from an adjacent slope.

All of this doesn't mean you can't ride. It does mean you need to stay off of and out from under steep, wind drifted slopes. By now you know the usual suspects to avoid... steep, upper elevation, shady slopes, especially those facing the north half of the compass.

weather


Warm, wet, and windy this morning before turning colder as the main event arrives. As the cold front slides through the region, winds shift to the west and northwest and blow in the 30's and 40's. We should see a period of heavier snow rates with 4"-8" of snow quickly stacking up, before the snow turns showery and tapers off late tonight. We've probably already hit our high temperature for the day and overnight lows crash into the low teens. A break in the action for Thursday morning with a weak system grazing the area late in the day. High pressure and warmer temperatures are slated for the weekend.

general announcements

The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but will be updated by 7:00 AM Thursday January 11, 2018.

If you're getting out and about, please let me know what you're seeing especially if you see or trigger and avalanche. I can be reached at [email protected] or 801-231-2170

It's also a good time to set up one of our very popular avalanche awareness classes. Reach out to me and I'll make it happen.

This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done. This advisory is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.