Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Saturday - January 20, 2018 - 3:53am
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In the wind zone at and above treeline the avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE. Human triggered avalanches are likely on steep, wind drifted slopes, especially those facing the north half of the compass and particularly those with an easterly component to their aspect.

Mid elevation north facing terrain offers MODERATE avalanche danger and human triggered slides are possible on steep slopes with recent deposits of wind drifted snow

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.




current conditions

Last nights cold front materialized into a good snow producer, especially for the North Slope which stacked up 6" of light density snow. About half that amount fell the further south you travel. Southerly winds are cranking 40-60 mph along the high ridges and temperatures are in the low 20's. Riding and turning condtions continue to improve which each storm, but with just over 3' of settled snow accross the range, the snowpack is barely coming out of its infant stage.

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

Ted was on the east side of the range yesterday and no surprise... found a shallow, weak snowpack. More on his travels and insights along with a string of recent trip reports can be seen here.


recent activity


This is the type of unpredictable avalanche dragon we're dealing with today. This slide triggered earlier this week, was initiated low on the slope and fits the recent pattern where avalanches are 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. (Gordon photo)

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

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

Winds are cranking and they'll have no shortage of light density snow to work with. Fresh drifts sensitive to our additional weight is today's most obvious avalanche concern and you'll find these newly formed pillows of snow on the leeward side of upper elevation ridges and around terrain features like chutes and gullies. Look for and avoid any fat, rounded piece of snow, especially if it sounds hollow like a drum. On steep, wind drifted terrain facing the north half of the compass, today's drifts can break deeper and wider than you might expect and will easily boss you around.

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.

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

Trickier and harder to detect is the possibility of triggering an avalanche that breaks into weak layers of snow, now buried deeper in our snowpack. There's a few variables out there right now, but what I do know is... we have a complex snowpack and this seasons history reveals that each time it snows, weak layers in our midpack wake up and we see a string of human triggered slides. While this storm didn't stack up huge water numbers, it did produce fairly strong winds which have laid down a solid feeling, cohesive slab. Problem is... the snowpack will allow us to get well out onto the slope before it fails. Once triggered, a slide breaking into weak layers of snow now buried in our midpack, will quickly get out of hand and instantly ruin our day. The most likely suspects are steep, wind drifted slopes facing north half of the compass. Since this avalanche dragon is unpredictable, the best offense is a good defense... you simply avoid it. Swing around to terrain facing the south half of the compass or choose low angle terrain with no steep slopes above or connected to the terrain your riding.

weather

The region is on the northern fringe of a nearly stalled frontal boundary this morning and should remain so through early this afternoon. This means light winds and low density snowfall is expected to continue through the end of the day. As a result we should stack up another 3"-6" of snow. Temperatures remain cool and in the upper teens. Snow showers into early Sunday morning, but northwest winds increase into the 40's as the storm moves to the east.

general announcements

The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but will be updated by 7:00 AM Sunday January 21, 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.