Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Tuesday - January 16, 2018 - 2:50am
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In the wind zone at and above treeline the avalanche danger is MODERATE. Human triggered avalanches are possible on steep, wind drifted slopes, especially those facing the north half of the compass and particularly those with an easterly component to their aspect.

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.




special announcement

The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but will be updated by 7:00 AM Friday January 19, 2018.

This weekends Sled Avy 101 provided the crew pictured above with a solid skill-set they can take anywhere and make the right decisions based on the avalanche danger and snowpack structure. Huge thanks to Park City Powder Cats for hosting and to The Backcountry Institute for providing a bitchin' workshop.

current conditions

High clouds drifted into the region overnight, ahead of a weak system slated to brush-by the region later today. Temepratures are inverted and it's considerably warmer as you gain elevation. Currently along the ridges it's in the mid 20's whilst hovering in the single digits at mid elevations where cold air pools. Winds are light, blowing less than 15 mph even along the high ridges. Last weeks storm cycle did the Eastern Front a solid, delivering just over 2' of dense, spongy snow. While it's still pretty thin out there, riding and turning conditions are quite good.

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

In late breaking news... this slide was triggered low on the slope Saturday just under Hoyt Peak. It fits the recent pattern where avalanches were triggered either mid-slope or from a distance. Common denominator- slides are failing in the midpack or close to the ground. The other common theme is steep leeward slopes facing the north half of the compass. Click here to see recent avy activity. (Boyer and Slack photos)

Click HERE for a viddy showing what's going on with our snowpack.

JG's pit from Reids Peak yesterday clearly shows where the weak snow lives and his pit results, along with the recent string of human triggered slides, reveals we're not out of the woods yet.

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

The image above is a slab triggered on Saturday by an extremely experienced, professional backcountry rider. Just a few turns into the slope, it collapsed and the slab broke above him, but fortunately he self-arrested on the bed surface and came out on top. This avalanche clearly illustrates the tricky nature of persistent slabs lurking on steep shady slopes throughout the range. What continues to make this setup tricky today is, the slab is starting to gain strength and allows you to get onto the slope before it fails. Once you've collapsed the slope, all bets are off and you're staring down the barrel of a scary slide.

So here's what's going on... we finally added enough weight for avalanches to begin breaking into weak layers of snow buried in the mid portion of our snowpack. Problem is, the avalanche danger isn't in your face. You don't look around and see avalanches everywhere. On the contrary... many steep slopes still remain 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 continued possibility of triggering a slide from low on the slope or even from a distance. ​

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.

Take advantage of small test slopes like the one pictured above. Tweak them to see how the snow is reacting before committing to a bigger slope objective. A small avalanche like the one pictured above gives me a huge piece of information about the snow stability and the type of avalanche dragon I'm dealing with.

weather

High clouds drift into the region throughout the day as a weak storm slides to the north of us. Winds remain light and southwesterly, blowing in the teens and low 20's. High temperatures climb into the mid and upper 30's with overnight lows in the teens. High pressure builds briefly for Wednesday with increasing clouds and wind Thursday. A good shot of snow seems a likely bet for Friday and Saturday.

general announcements

The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but will be updated by 7:00 AM Friday January 19, 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.