Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Wednesday - April 4, 2018 - 3:02am
bottom line

In a sea of generally LOW avalanche danger, a MODERATE danger exists on steep wind drifted slopes at and above treeline and human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE. In addition, a very isolated chance of triggering an unpredictably large avalanche still exists. The usual suspects include- steep, rocky terrain facing the north half of the compass, especially slopes with a thin, weak snowpack. Deep, dangerous, human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE in terrain with these kind of characteristics.
special announcement

This Sunday April 8th will be the last of the regularly scheduled advisories for the western Uinta Mountains.
current conditions

High, thin clouds rolled into the region late yesterday and current temperatures are in the upper teens and low 20''s. Southwest winds bumped up right around midnight and blow in the 30's along the high ridges. Riding and turning conditions are aspect dependant. South facing slopes offer smooth, suportable, corn-like conditions that, should soften later today. Whilst on the other half of the compass, shallow, soft snow is found on upper elevation wind sheltered, shady slopes.

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

A great body of recent trip reports, observations, and snow data here.

recent activity

No significant avalanche activity to report from yesterday.

A full list of avalanches 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

Winds have a little new snow to work with and fresh drifts, sensitive to our additional weight are today's most obvious and manageable avalanche problem. Predictably breaking at or below our skis, board or sled, today's shallow slabs are easy to detect and easy to avoid. Lose a little elevation and you lose the problem. Or simply steer clear of fat, rounded pieces of snow, especially if they feel or sound hollow like a drum.
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

We haven't heard of any avalanche activity breaking to deeply buried weak layers for over a week now and that's good news. Of course, Monday nights cold snap helped weld the snowpack in place. Where the pack is deep, it's happy in its own skin. For the most part, I think these instabilities have gone dormant for the moment. However, I'm not ready to let my guard down where the pack has remained thin and weak all year. Prime suspects include steep, rocky, upper elevation terrain facing the north half of the compass, along with slopes that already avalanched this season.
weather


Look for a weak weather disturbance to brush by to the north today, bringing mostly cloudy skies along with a snow flurry or two. High temperatures rise into the 30's with overnight lows dipping into the mid 20's. Southwest winds blow in the 30's along the high ridges. Meanwhile, a warming trend is on tap through the end of the week. A wet and initially warm storm is expected by 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 April 5th, 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.