Uintas

Look for CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger on steep, mid and upper-elevation slopes facing northwest through north through southeast. Human-triggered avalanches are LIKELY and once initiated, may produce a slide breaking 2'-4' deep and hundreds of feet wide. Note to self... while becoming more the exception than the rule, avalanches can still be triggered remotely, or from a distance.

So here's my exit strategy.... I'm finding quality riding, soft creamy snow, and MODERATE avalanche danger on the south half of the compass where my greatest risk is triggering a small, yet quite manageable wind-drift.

Or if I really wanna stick to my guns and be a snowcial conservative, I'll simply head to low elevation southerlies or what we call solars, where the avy hazard is generally LOW.

Please join Craig Gordon, that's me, Thursday night from 6-8PM at Mammut HQ for a state of the snowpack prezo. It's gonna be educational... it's bound to be informative.... and sources on the street tell me it might even be entertaining :)

Here's the deets-

Mammut SLC - 150 West Commonwealth Avenue South Salt Lake, UT 84115

No significant avalanche activity to report for the past few day's, but I was in Upper Weber Canyon Sunday and managed to sneak in some product testing while tending to less glamorous and more pedestrian chores along the way. Meanwhile... back to the snow... knowing the history of the pack is confirmed by digging around and taking a peek under the hood, showing strong snow on top of weak snow and reveals faceted weak layers on the polars. Seeing and feeling the structure, I kept things tight because I know that weak layers in the lower and midportion of the snowpack are guilty until proven otherwise and aren't healing anytime soon.

All Uinta obs and trip reports can be found here.

Nowcast -

Monday's damp weather delivered a trace or perhaps even a few traces of new snow, blanketing the high country with a thin coat of white paint. At o'dark thirty, high clouds drift into the region from the northeast as yesterday's storminess drifts to the four corners area. Temperatures register in the single digits and low teens, whilst northeast winds blow 10-20 mph near the high peaks. Excellent riding and turning conditions are found in wind sheltered, shady terrain

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Forecast- After a morning flurry or two, look for clearing skies with temperatures climbing into the mid 20's. The bad news... dang... the winds! Main bump in the road today are winds, which switch from north-northeast this morning to more east-northeast by this afternoon. Strongest winds blow into the 30's and come right around supper time.

Futurecast- A break in the action on Wednesday and then another, yet even stronger northeast wind event slated for Thursday.

We are deeply saddened to confirm two avalanche fatalities. The first involved a 38 year old man in Main Porter Fork of Mill Creek Canyon who went missing on Saturday. The second avalanche fatality occurred Tuesday and involved a 54 year old man off Davenport Hillinto Silver Fork of BCC. Both individuals were traveling alone in the backcountry. Please know, our hearts are heavy for the family and friends of these riders.

Many thanks to those who responded to these accidents: search and rescue teams from AirMed, LifeFlight, Utah Dept Public Safety, Utah Department of Transportation, Salt Lake County Search and Rescue, Wasatch Backcountry Rescue, Alta Ski Area, and members of the Utah Avalanche Center.

The Uinta weather station network was upgraded this summer and all that real-time info is found here. Simply click on the "Western Uinta" tab and then the "Weather Stations" tab to find all your weather needs.

We are always looking for snow and avalanche observations or just general riding conditions. So... if you see something, say something. You can reach our team directly by contacting: Craig at [email protected], 801-231-2170, or Andrew at [email protected], or 860-460-8142.

General Information

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 Tuesday, January 7th at 04:00AM and expires 24 hours after it was issued. We will update the forecast by 0700 AM tomorrow. But, in the meantime reach out to us with questions, or if you see anything in your travels.