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

saturDAY April 9, 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 Saturday, April 9, 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:

The cold front that raced through the region yesterday afternoon dropped temperatures by nearly 15 degrees and currently it’s in the mid teens. Winds are generally out of the west at speeds of 10-20 mph along the ridges. When the front moved through it deposited 3 or 4 inches of new snow throughout the range, however snowfall amounts are quite elevation dependent. Below about 9,000’ a little rain fell and yesterdays damp, gloppy snow will be replaced with today’s rock hard curb and gutter. Bring your kidney belt if you want to find to the goods, because getting there is a body bruising experience. Up in the high country though, conditions are fast and fun and you’ll find dust on a mostly supportable crust.

Avalanche Conditions:

Yesterdays energetic little storm looked promising on the radar screen, but unfortunately it was moisture challenged and offered up more huff than fluff. While I was out and about, gusty winds were blowing along the ridges forming very shallow soft slabs, but these were confined to the highest terrain. In addition, slabs were having a hard time bonding to the old, hard, slick bed surfaces and it was easy to trigger shallow avalanches on steep slopes. While manageable in size, today you’ll still want to be on the lookout for any new wind drifts. A well-placed slope cut would be the ticket before dropping into any steep, leeward, upper elevation slope.

Bottom Line:

At all elevations the avalanche danger is generally LOW on slopes less steep than about 35 degrees.

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.

Mountain Weather:

Another Pacific storm will move across the area today, though the bulk of this system looks like it’s diving south. We should see some scattered snow showers out of this one with 1”-3” of snow expected. Highs today at 8,000’ will be in the mid 30’s and at 10,000’ near 22 degrees. Overnight lows will be near 20 degrees. Winds will start to pick up later in the day and become more northerly, blowing 15-25 mph along the ridges by about sunset. Sunday through Tuesday look to be partly cloudy and warmer with highs getting into the lower 40’s. Another shot of snow is possible Wednesday, but right now there doesn’t seem to be much confidence with this storm. I’ll keep you posted.

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 Sunday Apr.10, 2005.

Thanks for calling!