Lawinenlagebericht

Uintas

Utah Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

  • Hochgebirge
  • Waldgrenze
  • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
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Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist 8 years ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

While most terrain offers LOW avalanche danger, at and above treeline, in the wind zone, the avalanche danger is MODERATE. Human triggered avalanches are possible in steep, wind drifted terrain, especially on slopes facing the north half of the compass and particularly on those with an easterly component to their aspect. In addition, while becoming harder to initiate, human triggered avalanches breaking into deeper, buried weak layers is a distinct possibility, particularly on any steep slope harboring old snow near the ground. Remember- triggering a slide that breaks to old snow will immediately ruin your day.

Lose a little elevation or swing around to slopes with no old snow near the ground and the avalanche danger drops dramatically.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Unlikely
    Größe
    2

    Yesterday, I found fresh pockets of wind drifted snow sensitive to my additional weight forming on the leeward side of upper elevation ridges. As the day wore on and winds subsided, these drifts relaxed overtime. Not much changed overnight, but as always, be on the lookout for and avoid any fat, rounded piece of snow especially if it sounds hollow like a drum.

    Yesterday's winds had no problem loading leeward slopes near Wolf Creek Pass.

    Road cuts and small slopes similar to the kind of terrain you want to ride are great "test slopes".... meaning, if you trigger a small slide the consequences are negligable. While I'm riding, I gather a lot of information by stomping on slopes with these characteristics and see how they react before I decide to get into big, committing terrain.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Unlikely
    Größe
    3

    Not much has changed on this front and Friday nights snow and wind didn't do too much to tip the balance. As a matter of fact, recent snowpit stability tests combined with the lack of avalanche activity suggests the pack feels pretty comfortable in its own skin... and that's good news. However, the Uinta's are a big range and there's lots of variables when it comes to snowpack depth and strength. Remember- "persistent weak layers" in the snowpack are a headache because they remain problem children for long periods of time. And all we need to do is find one weakness, maybe around a bush or rock that we can't see buried underneath the snow, collapse the pack, and now we're getting worked by a moving piece of snow. The usual suspect terrain comes to mind- steep, rocky slopes with a shallow snowpack. So the way I'm avoiding this scenario is by simply avoiding the terrain where this setup exists.... mid and upper elevation, north facing slopes that harbor weak, early season snow near the ground.

    Obviously obliging to my partners request... "make the funniest snowpack evaluation face you can" ... OK here ya go :)

    Tyler found weak snow near Iron Mountain. Not a problem now, but could be an issue if we load this structure with a good shot of snow and water weight.

    Steep, rocky, with a thin snowpack... complex terrain like in the image above is the kind of place where you could trigger a slide that breaks to weak snow near the ground.

Recent Activity

No significant avalanche activity to report.

Snow and Weather

Skies remained clear overnight, revealing a big, bright, beautiful moon. Southwest winds are light, blowing 15-20 mph along the high peaks and temperatures are in the teens. Friday nights 3"-6" of fresh snow helped cushion some of the old, hard tracks improving riding and turning conditions somewhat. And while recent winds have raked across our big, open bowls, with a little bit of searching, you'll find soft settled snow on wind sheltered slopes.

Above is recent hourly data from Trial Lake (9,945') along with wind data from Windy Peak (10,662'). To view more regional weather stations click here.

Plowing is done on Mirror Lake Highway, but Wolf Creek Pass is still open. The steep slopes surrounding the pass are getting hammered... ridden hard and without incident. However, just 'cause you can see your rig parked near Wolf Creek, doesn't mean the terrain you're choosing to ride is good to go. Remember- if you are getting out and about, be prepared for your own self rescue. Wear and know how to use an avalanche beacon, shovel, and probe.

Additional Info

Look for increasing clouds later today as another weak storm slides through the region. West and southwest winds bump up slightly, blowing in the 30's along the high ridges. High temperatures rise into the 30's. Light snow develops in the afternoon, continuing into Monday with accumulations in the 3" range. It looks like the Christmas storm dives too far south for us to see any significant snow.

General Announcements

The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but will be updated by 7:00 AM Monday December 24th, 2018.

If you're getting out and about, please let me know what you're seeing especially if you see or trigger and avalanche. I can be reached at [email protected] or 801-231-2170

It's also a good time to set up one of our very popular avalanche awareness classes. Reach out to me and I'll make it happen.

This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done. This advisory is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.

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