Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Uintas Area Mountains Issued by Craig Gordon for Friday - January 27, 2017 - 3:13am
bottom line

Heads up... avalanche conditions will be changing the next few days as the snow sees it's first glimpse of sun and warming temperatures.

In mid and upper elevation terrain, at and above treeline, the avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE. Human triggered avalanches are LIKELY on steep slopes, especially those on the leeward side of upper elevation ridges and particularly those with an easterly component to their aspect. Remember- any avalanche that breaks to weaker snow, now buried deep in the snowpack will get out of hand quickly, resulting in a dangerous slide.

A MODERATE avalanche danger is found on steep, lower elevation terrain and human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE on steep, shady slopes.

Most low elevation slopes facing the south half of the compass offer LOW avalanche danger.
special announcement

We still have a few spots open for our February 9th and 11th sled specific avy and riding skills work shop. Details are found here.

If you're at the Nobletts Trailhead killing some time, stop by our Beacon Basin and practice your avy rescue skills for a few minutes before heading out on the snow.
current conditions

Skies began clearing overnight and temperatures crashed into the low single digits at the trailheads and it's in negative territory along the peaks. Unfortunately, northeast winds have increased along the high ridges and they've been blowing 20-25 mph. That makes wind chill values register near -31 degrees... ouch! Out of the wind, you'll find epically light snow and the riding conditions are about as good as it gets.


24 hour run of Lofty Lake Peak wind data above.

Real time wind, snow, and temperatures for the Uinta's are found here


Another beautiful JG pit profile clearly showing our current snowpack setup. JG was in Weber Canyon yesterday his take on things is found here.

Snowpack observations and trip reports are found here.
recent activity


I rolled up to this freshly triggered slide yesterday near Wolf Creek Pass as the dust was settling. It was a nice sized pocket measuring 2 feet deep and 150 feet wide, only running 100 feet vertically due to terrain features. This slide occurred on a wind sheltered North aspect at 9,500 feet and failed on well preserved Surface Hoar. This avalanche illustrates the kind of avalanche issue we're dealing with the next couple days. (Gordon photo)

A full list of Uinta avalanche activity is found here.

Avalanche Problem 1
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

Overnight, upper elevation, northeast winds increased, loading slopes in unusual locations. Our manageable avalanche problem today are fresh drifts along the leeward side of mid and upper elevation ridges and around terrain features like chutes and gullies. Todays slabs might be a bit more stubborn than the past few days, but they're manageable because they'll break at or below our skis, board, or sled. However, once triggered any avalanche can grow into a bigger problem if it breaks into weaker snow now buried several feet deep in the snowpack.

Avalanche Problem 2
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

Our unmanageable avalanche problem is harder to detect unless we spend a little time and dig into the snow to investigate. What you'll find with minimal effort are weak, sugary, near surface facets and surface hoar. These notoriously tricky and persistent weak layers are now buried a couple feet deep in our snowpack and until recently, have been in their happy place and life is good. However, now that the storm snow is starting to consolidate and settle, these dormant layers are coming back to life. Adding to the complexity is that many slopes avalanched naturally during our recent storm cycle, but there's still plenty more that just need a trigger like us to come along and knock the legs out from underneath them. It's a tricky setup for sure, but it doesn't have to be a roll of the dice and the solution for the next couple of days is easy. Either do a little homework, dig around and identify slopes that have a suspect snowpack or simply avoid being on, under, or connected to steep slopes, especially those facing the north half of the compass and particularly those with an easterly component to their aspect. Remember- any avalanche that breaks into weak layers buried deep in the snowpack will be dangerous.


Above... cracking in front of your skis, board, or sled is a huge clue to unstable snow. JG had a good take on our current state of snowpack affairs. He commented, "The storm slab is becoming more cohesive and we were getting large areas of connected snow to collapse and I can see a potential for avalanches becoming larger due to the increased connectivity of the slab."



With a little homework you can clearly identify the weak snow. In this pit, clean shears reveal a persist buried weak layer.
weather

A dry northerly flow sets up over the region through Sunday, giving us sunny skies with temperatures climbing into the teens and low 20's and overnight lows dipping into the single digits. North and northeast winds blow in the 20's and 30's along the high ridges. The flow becomes more westerly Monday, ushering very mild temperatures.
general announcements

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]

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 on Saturday January 28th.