Lawinenlagebericht

Uintas

Utah Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

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

Kernpunkte

Heads up.... avy danger bumped up a notch overnight, especially on the south half of the range from Strawberry to Currant Creek to Mill Hollow-

In the wind zone at and above treeline, CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger exists on leeward slopes facing the north half of the compass where human-triggered, storm snow and wind-drifted avalanches are LIKELY. Remember... any slide triggered in steep, rocky terrain with a weak, shallow snowpack will result in a deep, dangerous avalanche.

In addition, storm snow blankets south facing terrain from tip to tail, along with shady slopes near the trailheads offering a slightly more straightforward MODERATE avalanche danger. None-the-less, human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE, especially on sustained, steep slopes.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Persistent Slabs

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

    Today's storm is gonna put our weak layers to the test, especially where the snowpack has remained thin and sugary all year, like slopes that have avalanched multiple times. Problem is, everything is gonna look white and uniform and feel super solid under our sled, board, or skis. So, I'm approaching steep, shady slopes with a "guilty until proven otherwise" mindset. I'm keeping it tight and simply avoiding shallower areas of the snowpack like steep, rocky terrain where I'm more likely to trigger an avalanche that breaks deeper and wider than I might expect. In addition, if I decide to step out, I'm gonna make sure the slopes I'm choosing don't have any overhead hazard.

    North of Race Track Bowl, above is an example of a repeater slope... meaning it's avalanched several times this winter. Left image illustrates the precursor... this slope slid during the Christmas cycle and left behind a shallow, weak snowpack. On the right, a slide triggered low on the slope on Feb. 22nd with nearly the same dimensions and snow characteristics... not what we expect for this deep in the season.

  • Wind Slabs

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

    A 24 hour data dump form Windy Peak (10,661') illustrating wind velocity, direction, and duration.

    As the storm continues to materialize, strong southerly winds coupled with fresh snow, whip up dense drifts reactive to our additional weight. Found mostly on the leeward side of ridges in terrain facing the north half of the compass, I wouldn't be too surprised to find a fresh drift or two lurking around a terrain feature like a chute or gully wall. In either case, I'm looking for and avoiding fat, rounded pieces of snow, especially if they sound hollow like a drum. And remember... any avalanche triggered, might pack more of a punch, especially by late in the day.

  • Storm Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    1

    There's a myriad of old, hard, slick surfaces which provide an efficiant surface for avalanches to run on. With more storm snow stacking up, we'll wanna avoid sustained steep slopes, where even a small slide can catch me off-guard and knock me off my feet.

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Recent Activity

No significant avalanches reported since February 25th, but the image above from Gold Hill, depicts exactly the type of slide we could trigger today in steep, rocky, wind drifted terrain.

Also, no shortage of good reading from across the range and beyond, here.

Snow and Weather

Nowcast- Game on... the storm settled in overnight delivering a warm, moist, south-side shuffle, lighting up Daniels and Strawberry with 6" snow and .80 SWE. Upper Currant Creek and Mill Hollow register 10" of snow and I suspect closer to 1.1" H2O. Trial Lake and the North Slope remain on the dry side of storm with just 3" snow and .40" H2O. Water numbers along with temperatures registering in the mid 20's suggest a heavy, wet storm. South and southeast winds 25-35 mph. aren't choosy.... blowing evenly across the range. Riding and turning conditions are dense and surfy.

Forecast- Look for mostly cloudy skies and a good shot of snow with an additional 6"-10" of snow stacking up through this afternoon. Temperatures hover right around freezing while southerly winds blow in the 30's along the ridges, gusting into the upper 40's near the high peaks.

Futurecast- Winds veer to the west and eventually northwest overnight and that'll usher in colder air, kicking off a round of snow for the North Slope. The storm starts winding down on Friday as high pressure moves in, delivering warm, dry conditions for the weekend.

Here we go! Our good friends and longtime partners at Salt Lakes National Weather Service issue a Winter Storm Warning with a solid storm slated to impact the Uinta zone for the next 24 hours.

Additional Info

The Camp Steiner snow site, just east of Scout Peak and south of Lofty Peak, was upgraded with a new snow sensor and is cranking out accurate snow depths just in time for the first spring storm! This is a great weather station that provides information specific to the north slope, high-country, and Mirror Lake environs. You can access all the stations across the range, here.. click on western Uinta tab.

Installing the new snow depth sensor at Camp Steiner just below Scout Peak. When you bring your brother to work, you have to put him to work -- Thanks for the install, Kyle!

General Announcements

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

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 Thursday, March 6th at 04:00 AM and expires 24 hours after it was issued.

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