Wasatch Cache and Uinta National Forests

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

Tri-City Performance, Polaris, the Utah Snowmobile Association, the National Weather Service, BRORA, and Backcountry Access.

  

 

 

avalanche advisory

sunday march 4, 2007

The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after the date and time it’s issued, but will be updated Wednesday March 7, 2007.

 

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 4, 2007 and it’s about 7:00 am. Regularly scheduled avalanche advisories for the western Uinta’s are available on Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday and all holidays and are brought to you in partnership with Utah State Parks and Recreation.

This advisory covers the terrain from Daniels Summit, to Mirror Lake, to the North Slope of the western Uinta Mountains. That’s a lot of turf and I can’t be in all of these places at once. Your snow and avalanche observations are critical to this program and help to save other riders lives by getting accurate information out to the public. I’m interested in what you’re seeing especially if you see or trigger an avalanche. Please call 801-231-2170, or email at cgordonski@hotmail.com and fill me in with all the details. 

 

A SPECIAL AVALANCHE ADVISORY CONTINUES FOR THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTHERN UTAH INCLUDING THE WESTERN UINTA’S. RECENT HEAVY SNOW AND STRONG WINDS HAS LED TO DANGEROUS AVALANCHE CONDITIONS ON STEEP MOUNTAIN SLOPES. LARGE UNSURVIVABLE AVALANCHES HAVE RELEASED OVER THE PAST TWO DAYS AND THOSE WITHOUT EXCELLENT AVALANCHE AND ROUTE FINDING SKILLS SHOULD AVOID THE BACKCOUNTRY

 

Current Conditions:

High pressure is settling in over the area resulting in clear skies, light winds and a significant temperature inversion. For instance, at 11,000’ it’s in the mid 20’s, 10,000’ in the upper teens and a brisk 8 degrees at the trailhead elevations. Along the high ridgelines northeasterly winds are blowing 10-20 mph. Yesterdays strong sunshine crusted many sun exposed slopes, particularly at low and mid elevations, but soft creamy powder will be found on sheltered shady slopes.

 

Avalanche Conditions:

I’m surprised I didn’t hear about more avalanche activity yesterday, especially since avalanches were being triggered all around the range, but unfortunately I don’t have any details to share. Remember- your observations could help save someone else’s life!

The only slide called in was triggered remotely by a snowcat near Weber Canyon. The avalanche was 1’-3’ deep, about 200’ wide and ran for several hundred vertical feet. It occurred on a steep northeast facing slope above 10,000’ and would’ve been unsurvivable had a rider triggered it and been caught.

The next day or two will be critical in the snowpacks healing process and today’s rapidly warming temperatures will put an additional stress on the weak layers of snow now buried several feet below the snows surface. The strong slab which rests on top of weak sugary snow formed in January will get stretched like a rubber band, especially during the heat of the day. If you’re unlucky enough to stumble onto a steep slope and snap the rubber band, you’ll be looking down the barrel of a large, dangerous and unsurvivable avalanche. You don’t have to be a snow scientist in order to go out, have fun and return safely today, but you will need to practice restraint in your terrain choices and stay off of and out from under steep slopes. Remember- you can tone your slope angles down and still have a great day.

(Click here for some awesome avalanche pictures and a short video).

 

Bottom Line:

The avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE today on all slopes approaching 35 degrees and steeper with recent deposits of wind drifted snow, especially those facing northwest, north, northeast, east and southeast above about 8,000’. A CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger means human triggered avalanches are probable, natural avalanches possible.

The avalanche danger may rise to HIGH on steep sun-exposed slopes, especially during the heat of the day. A HIGH avalanche danger means both human triggered and natural avalanches are likely.

 

Mountain Weather:

High pressure builds today resulting in a significant warming trend. Highs at 8,000’ will be near 40 degrees and at 10,000’ in the low to mid 30’s. Overnight lows dip into the mid 20’s. Winds will become southwesterly as the day wares on, but should remain relatively well-behaved blowing in the 15-25 mph range along the ridges. A weak storm system slides through the region late Monday, bringing increasing clouds and a flurry or two for Tuesday.

 

Announcements:

I completed a preliminary investigation on the avalanche accident that occurred on Saturday Feb.17th in Buck Basin and it can be found here. Also there have been a number of close calls and unintentionally human triggered avalanches across the state in the past few days and pictures with descriptions of the events can be found here.

 

We finally got the Windy Peak weather station up and running. Click here for current conditions.

 

I’d like to thank Jim Shea, The Canyons and Colleen Graham from the Friends of the UAC for all their hard work in making the Know Before You Go fundraiser such a success!

 

The first annual western Uinta fundraising ride was an amazing success with nearly 150 people showing up for the ride alone!

I want to thank the Jim Shea Family Foundation, Rocky Mountain Sledders, the Wasatch Snowmobile Association and the Utah Snowmobile Association for all their tireless work in putting the event together. Thanks again to Team Thunderstruck and the Boondockers crew for helping out and schooling even the most experienced riders. Also, we couldn’t have pulled it off if it weren’t for Chad Booth who did an incredible job as both master of ceremonies and auctioneer. Finally, it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of everyone who attended… you folks are awesome!  

 

I want to thank the crew at Tri-City Performance in Springville along with Polaris and the Utah Snowmobile Association for partnering with the avalanche center and stepping up to the plate by providing a new sled for this season!  Click here, to see the new ride!

 

We installed Beacon Basin at the Noblett’s Trailhead and it’s good to go. I want to thank Doug, Bill, Jared, Brad and Wally who

unselfishly took time out of their powder day to help out the riding community… you guys rock!

 

Free avalanche awareness classes are available. Give me a call at 801-231-2170 or email cgordonski@hotmail.com and get one scheduled before the season gets too crazy!

 
If any terms confuse you, take a look at our new avalanche encyclopedia.

 

For avalanche photos click here.

 

General Information: 

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’ll update this advisory by 7:00 am on Wednesday March 7, 2007.

This advisory is also available by calling 1-800-648-7433 or

1-888-999-4019.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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