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.

holiday Avalanche ADVISORY

monday february 21, 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 Monday, February 21, 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 short-lived ridge is building and under clear skies, temperatures along the high peaks are currently in the mid teens and at the trailheads it’s in the low 20’s. Winds are out of the northwest, blowing less than 15 mph along the ridges. Snowfall totals for the past few days are adding up with about a foot at the mid elevations and nearly two feet above 10,000’. The riding and sliding conditions are about as good as they get and even low angle slopes are fast and fun.

Avalanche Conditions:

It was another active day in the backcountry yesterday and almost all of the avalanche activity occurred within the new, light density snow. Most folks were sticking to the mid elevations because up high, the winds were nuking and you could barely see your ski tips. In the past few days, snow totals and water weight have been slowly creeping up on us. While some slopes have avalanched naturally, many hang in a balance waiting for a trigger to come along and give ‘em a good thump. Today we have the perfect recipe for human triggered avalanches. Clear skies, deep powder, and a weak layer now buried several feet down that will be hard to detect, unless you take the time and evaluate the snowpack. Tweak as many small test slopes as you can and get as much information before committing to a big slope. It’ll be easy to get lulled into a false sense of security, because the obvious instabilities are within the new snow. Remember though, deeper buried weak layers such as our January facets are notoriously tricky. Avalanches triggered today have the potential to step down into these, creating a much deeper and wider avalanche than you might expect. Your best bet for today is to tone your slope angles down and follow safe travel protocols.

Bottom Line:

The avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE today on all upper elevation slopes steeper than about 35 degrees, especially those with recent deposits of wind-drifted snow. Human triggered avalanches are probable and natural avalanches possible.

At mid elevations the avalanche danger is MODERATE on slopes steeper than about 35 degrees with recent wind drifts and human triggered avalanches are possible.

In wind-sheltered terrain and on slopes less steep than about 30 degrees the avalanche danger is generally LOW.

Mountain Weather:

Today we should see increasing high clouds as the next wave of the Pacific low starts to move into the region. Winds will be light and temperatures mild with highs at 10,000’ in the mid 20’s and at 8,000’ near freezing. Overnight lows will drop into the mid teens. Clouds should thicken overnight and snow will develop by early Tuesday. Unsettled weather will stick with us through about Wednesday night and each 12 hour period we could see 2”-4” of snow. High pressure returns for next weekend.

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 [email protected] 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 Feb. 23, 2005.

Thanks for calling!