Wasatch Cache and Uinta National Forests

In partnership with: Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center, The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center and Utah State Parks.

Avalanche ADVISORY

sunday march 13, 2005

Good morning, this is Craig Gordon with the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center with your avalanche and mountain weather advisory for the western Uinta Mountains. Today is Sunday, March 13, 2005 and it’s 7:00 a.m.

Announcements:

A beacon-training center has been installed at the Nobletts trailhead and “Beacon Basin” up and running!
Many thanks go out to Backcountry Access for supplying all the equipment, Doug Page and all the 
volunteers who provided manpower, Jim Conway who was the brains behind the operation, and the
Kamas and Heber Ranger Districts, along with State Parks and The Utah Snowmobile Association
for their in-kind support. Swing by and check it out before going on the snow. It’s free and within walking 
distance from the parking lot.
 
The Moffit Peak weather station is back in operation. This site was made possible through generous donations
from BRORA, The Utah Snowmobile Association, and the National Weather Service. You can view data by clicking here.

For recent avalanche photos click here.

Current Conditions:

A Canadian cold front blasted through the state overnight dropping temperatures faster than a bad stock option. Currently it’s 8 degrees at 11,000’ and in the upper teens near the trailheads. Winds have died down quite a bit overnight and are out of the east and northeast blowing less than 15 mph along the ridges. Yesterdays strong wind event pretty much nuked all the upper elevation shady slopes, severely damaging what little good soft snow was left. There are still pockets of soft, recycled powder on protected northerly facing aspects, but they’ll be getting harder to find. If you’re after corn this morning, there’s no need to fly out the door too early because it’ll be a while before the snow surface softens up.

Avalanche Conditions:

What a difference a day makes! Temperatures are nearly 20 degrees colder than yesterday at this time and any damp snow concerns are welded in place at the moment. With very firm conditions early this morning, take care if you’re getting on steep slopes with rock hard snow. A slide for life could have ugly consequences. As far as avalanches go, I don’t think the snow will get soft enough today on the sunny aspects to make wet avalanches a big concern. However, if you’re starting to sink into wet sloppy snow then it’s time to move onto a colder slope. On the shady slopes, be on the lookout for fresh wind drifts that were formed by yesterdays strong west and northwesterly winds. These shallow slabs will be limited to the upper elevations and will most likely be on the leeward side of ridges and around terrain features such as chutes and gullies.

Bottom Line:

There is a MODERATE avalanche danger on upper elevation slopes steeper than about 35 degrees with recent deposits of wind drifted snow. Human triggered avalanches are possible.

The avalanche danger is generally LOW on most other slopes.

Mountain Weather:

A series of cold weather disturbances will move south out of western Canada this week ushering in cold air to the region, but with limited moisture. The first one moved through last night, so today we can expect much colder temperatures under partly cloudy skies. Highs today at 8,000’ will be in the mid 20’s and at 10,000’ in the upper teens. Overnight lows will be near 15 degrees. Winds will be out of the north at speeds of 10-20 mph along the ridges. Tonight, clouds should increase and there’s a slight chance of light snow showers developing for Monday. It’s nothing to get too excited about with only an inch or two expected during the day. The pattern repeats itself throughout the week with a chance of on and off snow as each cold front passes through the area. Looking into the future though there is hope that the overall pattern may change in about a week to a wetter, more westerly flow. I’ll keep you updated as things develop.

General Information:

We’re interested in what you’re seeing especially if you see or trigger an avalanche. Call 1-800-662-4140, or 801-231-2170, or email to uac@avalanche.org or fax to 801-524-6301 and fill us in with all the details.

If you’d like to schedule a free snowmobile specific avalanche talk and or a field day, please call 801-231-2170.

The information in this advisory is from the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur. I will update this advisory by 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday Mar. 16, 2005.

Thanks for calling!