Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains | Issued by Craig Gordon for April 6, 2013 - 5:59am |
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bottom line While not widespread, pockets of CONSIDERABLE danger will be found at and above treeline. Human triggered avalanches are likely, particularly on steep, rocky slopes, facing the north half of the compass where strong feeling snow overlies weak sugary snow. The danger of wet avalanches is generally LOW this morning, but will rapidly rise to MODERATE and human triggered wet slides and sluffs will be possible. Carefully plan your exits and get off of and out from under steep slopes during the heat of the day
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special announcement Next Sunday April 14th will be the last of our regularly scheduled advisories
iPhone & iPad users: With help from Backcountry.com & Garafa, LLC, we now have a free mobile app that combines the best of the UAC advisories, observations, and weather summaries with National Weather Service products & UDOT road updates. This puts the tools you need for planning your day and your run in one handy mobile package. Check it out, tell your friends, and let us know what you think. http://utahavalanchecenter.org/apps |
current conditions A moist westerly flow brought a quick hitting cold front to the region yesterday delivering 3" of damp, high density snow. Winds have mellowed out since raging in the 40's and 50's prior to the cold front. Currently, they're light and variable, blowing 5-15 mph even along the high peaks. Temperatures are mild and in the mid to upper 20's. Don't get too discouraged at the lack of low elevation trailhead snow... riding and turning conditions remain quite good up high where you'll find dense, spongy snow on a mostly supportable base. From hero to zero. The lower elevations took a hard hit this week as warm temperatures and light rain have taken their toll. Recent observations can be found here. Wondering why last winter was so crazy? Click here to watch the 2011-12 Utah Winter Review... an excellent recap of last years conditions.
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recent activity The region received a one-two punch this week... heavy, dense snow and a rapid warm up conspired against our weak snowpack. This very large natural slide in the Super Bowl occurred around 11:00 on the morning of the 3rd. The crown was over 1/2 mile wide, averages 30" in depth, and broke to weak old snow formed during the January dryspell. Click here for a description explaining the slide and snowpack conditions leading to this very unusual event.
Click here for recent observations from the region. |
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It's remarkable to me that we're still taking about avalanches breaking to the ground and here it is the first week of April when we're usually enjoying manageable avalanches conditions on a solid, go anywhere base. This year it's different and the cold dryspell during January sealed the deal, helping to create and then preserve a very weak base. Up until the last series of storms we were good to go because there was no slab. Now however, the storm snow has settled and consolidated into a dense layer of snow. Unfortunately it rests on a persistent weakness (a very weak layer of depth hoar) and we've got all the ingredients for an unmanageable avalanche. Making conditions more sketchy is that you can ride plenty of slopes and be good to go, but if you find the right combination of strong snow overlying weak sugary snow chances are you're gonna collapse the slope and be staring down the barrel of a very dangerous slide. Our problem child hasn't gone away and steep, rocky slopes remain suspect. If you're travels take you onto a snowpack that feels punchy and you find yourself sinking into weak sugary snow, carefully evaluate the kind of terrain you're headed to and the kind of terrain you're connected to. Rather than complicating matters, you can avoid avalanches altogether and still have a blast carving on low angle slopes today.
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The snow surface is damp and in general, wet slides and surface sluffs are easily triggered on steep, sustained slopes. If the sun comes out for any period of time today the activity will spike accordingly. Generally manageable in size and depth, you'll still want to avoid terrain traps like gullies and road cuts, where even a small slide can pile up bone snapping debris very deeply.
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Winds have been all over the place and cornices continue to grow and sag under their own weight. As they heat up the next few days they'll become more tender and have the possibility to break back further than you might expect. |
weather A moist westerly flow will keep unsettled weather over the area through the weekend. A weak disturbance later this morning delivers a couple inches of high density snow with snow levels near 7000 ft. Temperatures climb into the mid and upper 30's before dipping into the mid 20's overnight. Westerly winds should remain relatively well behaved with a few gusts in the 20's and 30's along the high peaks. Another system slides through the region Sunday and this looks a bit more potent. Yet another, colder storm is slated for Sunday night through Tuesday. Details are still being sorted through, but this looks like a good snow producer for the region. We should have a better handle on this for tomorrows update.
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general annoucements Remember your information can save lives. If you see anything we should know about, please participate in the creation of our own community avalanche advisory by submitting snow and avalanche conditions. You can call me directly at 801-231-2170, email [email protected], or email by clicking HERE This is a great time of year to schedule a free avalanche awareness presentation for your group or club. You can contact me at 801-231-2170 or email [email protected] Donate to your favorite non-profit –The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center. The UAC depends on contributions from users like you to support our work. The information in this advisory is from the US Forest Service which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur. The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but will be updated by 7:00 AM Sunday April 7th. |