Avalanche forecast

Uintas

Utah Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

  • Alpine
  • Treeline
  • Below treeline
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Out of date — this forecast expired 8 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

At and above treeline, strong winds conspire with fresh storm snow, bumping today's avalanche danger to MODERATE. As our incoming storm materializes, human triggered wind drifts are POSSIBLE on steep, leeward slopes, facing the north half of the compass. In addition to fresh drifts, avalanches may break deeper and wider than you might expect, especially on slopes that are thin and rocky, where a stiff slab rests on top of weak, sugary, early season snow.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1

    A 24 hour data dump from Windy Peak illustrates the direction, velocity, and duration of our ridgetop winds.

    We can easily avoid this avalanche dragon-

    You know the program... loose the wind and you loose the problem. Yeah, simply steer clear of dense, rounded, pillows of snow, especially if they sound hollow like a drum. Loose some elevation and seek out wind sheltered terrain where you'll find spongy, reboundable snow, particularly later today once the storm gets going.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2

    Early last week, a party of riders triggered this avalanche on the North Slope near the Humpy Basin. Evidence is sparse, but some strong detective work from local Snowpro, Trevor Katz, helped piece things together. Looks like a catch and carry a close call. You can find more on their report here.

    This is the avalanche dragon that'll roll us-

    Upper elevation slopes facing the north half of the compass harbor early-season snow that grew weak and sugary during the November dryspell. Last week's storm snow conspired with strong winds, burying the weak layer a couple feet deep, creating our main avalanche hazard, persistent slab avalanches. It's not a widespread problem, but the usual suspects come to mind... steep, shady, upper-elevation, rocky slopes where, once triggered, today's avalanches could still break deeper and wider than you expect, delivering a nasty ride.

    It has been over a week since the last persistent slab avalanche was reported. As time wears on and the snowpack gets comfortable in its own skin, there's fewer red flags, or obvious clues... like cracking and collapsing. But take a deeper look under the hood to understand what's going on. A quick dig with your shovel easily reveals a strong, dense slab resting on weak, sugary snow. That combo creates a trap-door feeling when we're trenching our sled or stomping out an aggressive ski track.

Recent Activity

No new avalanche activity to report, but you can find lots of travel reports and observations from across the range and beyond below.

View All Observations Here

Snow and Weather

Nowcast - I know you came for the snow, but please stay for the wind. Man, we've gotta look for a different regional marketing slogan, but for the next couple hours, it's all I've got to offer. Clouds are settling in and current temperatures register right around freezing, while winds blowing 30-50 mph from the west and southwest blast the ridges and high peaks. It's a good day to clean the garage or organize the kitchen junk drawer and wait for some snow to stack up 'cause riding and turning conditions are gonna be rugged this morning.

Forecast - A period of unsettled weather moves over the region and homesteads through the weekend. Today, look for two moist impulses sliding through the Uinta zone. For this morning, expect a quick burst of energy stacking up a couple inches of dense, heavy snow. It'll be rather warm with high temperatures climbing into the mid 30's F. Winds from the west and southwest crank into the 60's and 70's along the ridges and nuke to 90 mph near the high peaks. This afternoon brings another round of snow but with colder temperatures. This entire storm system is tracking north, though my glass half full suggests a cautiously optimistic 4" of snow and .50" H20 by about dinnertime.

Futurecast - A short-lived break in the action is on tap for Thursday morning, but a weak ripple of moisture squeaks by to deliver a couple inches of snow. Another turbulent storm similar to today's system is on tap to close out the workweek.

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Travel Conditions - From sun crust to wind-board, facets to near-Solstice slush, it's a crap shoot, especially in the alpine. However, you can minimize the house odds and avoid rolling a set of snake eyes by steering towards low angle, wind sheltered, shady terrain. Or get some chores done this morning and wait for the storm to stack up a little cushion for a smoother, more reliable ride :)

From an avy perspective, the snow surface and overall coverage are a variable, mixed bag of both strong and weak snow. Once winter returns from it's tropical hiatus it'll offer a tricky setup.

Andy visited the South Slope yesterday and reports a tale of two snowpacks. Old snow near the ground on slopes facing the north half of the compass, while lower and mid elevation sunny slopes are still waiting for the invite to the company-wide Holiday Party.

Additional Info

This fleet can't be beat! Huge thanks to Ski-Doo in partnership with Karl Malone's Plaza Cycle, for arranging our sled, loaner program. This vital state-wide partnership gets sleds into the hands of UAC forecasters, allowing us to see more terrain, gather more snowpack information, and issue more accurate avalanche forecasts. Ultimately, this program helps us save lives!

General Announcements

We have some upcoming classes and events that we would be stoked to see you at -- Please reach out with any questions and check out below for more details!

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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:

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 Wednesday, December 17th at 0400 AM and expires 24 hours after it was issued. We'll update this information by 07:00 AM tomorrow.

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