Lawinenlagebericht

Uintas

Utah Avalanche Center
Auf der Karte ansehen

Lawinengefahr

  • Hochgebirge
  • Waldgrenze
  • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
Open full map
Veraltet — dieser Lagebericht ist 5 months ago abgelaufen. Du siehst vergangene Verhältnisse, nicht den aktuellen Bericht.

Kernpunkte

At upper elevations in the windzone, CONSIDERABLE avalanche dang exists and human-triggered, wind-drifted avalanches are LIKELY breaking up to 3' deep on steep, wind-loaded, leeward terrain.

I am steering clear of the windzone where I could run into any drifting today, and heading for simpler, mid to upper elevation, northerly terrain where moderate slope angles provide the best riding.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

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

    For over 24 hours strong winds blowing between 30-40 MPH, gusting into the 50's and 60's loaded leeward slopes facing northwest through southeast. Sitting atop new snow in many places, today's wind-drifts can fail remotely from a distance and break up to 3' deep. Yesterday, small drifts were reactive underfoot to ski cuts and while stomping around on test slopes, a sure sign that bigger drifts in larger terrain are equally, if not more sensitive to our additional weight.

    Today, I am steering clear of slopes that are steeper than 35° that are loaded, and live on the east half of the compass. When traveling, I am looking for rounded pillows and textured surfaces off of ridgelines on specific terrain features like cut-banks, gullies and mid-slope rollovers where these drifts will live. Above is a micro, wind-loaded slope that was fun to play around on and use as a test slope to evaluate the reactivity of our drifting. Even in wind-resistant terrain strong winds were moving and loading snow throughout the day yesterday.

  • Storm Slabs

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

    After 15-20" of medium-density snow since Tuesday, a slab has settled into place at all aspects and elevations -- that doesn't mean we have the set-up for storm slab avalanches though. Out of the windzone, things fell right-side up with warm snow to start and cold snow to finish and things bonded very well to the old snow surface. My plan is to keep an eye on how it's reacting to my additional weight today and keep my eyes peeled for the sun popping out and warming things up which will increase the sensitivity of the snowpack overall.

    For me, with an avalanche problem like this, It is helpful to use hasty, on-the-fly tests and find small, non-consequential slopes to stomp around on and gain more information before stepping out into terrain where confidence is key!

Special Announcement

Researchers Ian McCammon and Sara Boilen are developing new tools for managing human factors for backcountry skiers and boarders. This survey asks about personal experiences with human factors and will take 7 - 8 minutes to fill out. Link is HERE.

Recent Activity

No new avalanche activity has been reported from across the range in the past 24 hours.

View All Avalanches & Observations Here

Snow and Weather

Nowcast - What a storm! Since Tuesday, we have received roughly 15-20" of right-side up snow across the range with just under 2" of SWE. It came in like a lamb, quiet and calm, but unfortunately roared out like a lion with westerly winds averaging 30 MPH gusting into the 60's. The cold front ripped through at about 1300 yesterday and temperatures dropped significantly. Right now, 10,000' stations are reporting single digit temps (°F).

Forecast - A chilly, beautiful winter-like day is on tap for the range with a little sunshine to boot. We start off with overcast skies and a few lingering flurries this morning as the storm exists the region. 10k' temperatures look to hit a high of 25°F on the day, while a nice breeze from the northwest continues and keeps things chilly, blowing 15-25 MPH gusting into the 30's up high.

Futurecast - The storm tapers off today and we stay sunny and cool into the weekend. That being said, temperatures return to 10-15°F above average by early next week and we are back in the ring with high-pressure.

Travel Conditions - Since Tuesday, we stacked up 15-20" of medium-density snow providing a quick refresh and brief return of winter! Each day the storm snow has settled more into place and the riding continues to improve. On solar and low elevation slopes, things were patchy and bare prior to this storm, but they now have enough snow to travel and slide around on. The best riding exists out of the windzone in mid to upper elevation polar terrain where smooth, moderate slope angles are the ticket.The dynamic Uinta duo of Trevor K and Fran A out and about taking advantage of the improving travel conditions. It doesn't matter if your on a rig, skis, your board or ripping a snow angel, the riding quality has seriously improved over the past few days!

General Announcements

We are always looking for snow and avalanche observations or just general riding conditions. Reach out to us with questions, concerns, or if you see anything in your travels! Contact us directly through the info below:

Craig Gordong | [email protected] | 801-231-2170

Andrew Nassetta | [email protected] | 860-460-8142

This forecast is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This forecast describes general avalanche conditions, and local variations always occur. This forecast was issued on Friday, April 03 at 06:30 and expires 24 hours after it was issued. We'll update this information by about 7:00 AM tomorrow.

Abgedeckte Regionen