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Out of date — this forecast expired 6 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

The danger of wet avalanches starts in the LOW category this morning when the snow is hard and frozen and rises to MODERATE danger as the day progresses. With daytime heating, human triggered triggered wet slides and sluffs become possible on steep, sun-baked slopes.

In addition and limited to a small portion of the terrain available to ride in today-

At and above treeline, in the wind zone, pockets of MODERATE avalanche danger exist in steep, technical terrain. Human triggered avalanches breaking deeper and wider than you might expect are POSSIBLE on steep, rocky, upper elevation slopes facing the north half of the compass.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1

    Cornices are quite large these days and may break back further than you expect. You definitely want to give these large boxcar pieces of snow a wide berth.

    Todays intense sunshine and warm temperatures, quickly loosen the surface snow on all aspects and all elevations. That, in turn, ramps up the avalanche danger on steep, sun-baked slopes. The good news is... wet avalanche issues are easy to avoid. If you're feeling like an ant under a magnifying glass, so is the snow. As the day heats up and the snow you're riding becomes damp, manky, or unsupportable, simply switch to a cooler aspect or call it a day and move on to other activities. In addition, avoid terrain traps like steep road cuts or gullies where wet cement-like snow can stack up very deeply.

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    2

    Breaking 3' deep and a football field wide, the avalanche in the image above was triggered last Friday on the steep, heavily wind loaded, northwest facing bowl of Notch Mountain. As noted by the rider.... "I was the third snowmobiler to climb the mountain and I triggered the slide. Avalanche airbag kept my head above the snow." More details found here.

    Not much has changed on this front. The Uinta's are amazing right now... fat, white and filled in. As a matter of fact, we've got a solid snowpack with a go anywhere base, which enables us to get onto big slopes and tag complex terrain. But, as you know, the Uinta's are a big range. And while the vast majority of our terrain is good to go, if you were looking to trigger an avalanche, I bet you could find one. And, the snowmobile triggered avalanche on Notch Mountain (above), not only illustrate the type of terrain we love to ride in the spring, it's also the type of terrain where we could trigger a slide today that breaks deeper and wider than we might expect. The most likely places you could trigger a dry snow avalanche are gonna be isolated to the high country... steep, rocky, leeward slopes in the wind zone at and above treeline.

Special Announcement

The Avalanche Research Program at Simon Fraser University is conducting an online survey to examine how people use avalanche safety information. They want to hear from all backcountry users to understand how they process information provided in public avalanche forecasts. Anyone who completes the survey before May 15th will be entered to win cash prizes. Uncertainty, Risk, & Decision Making: before, during, and after COVID-19 - Read this thought-provoking blog post about how we take risks by guest author Tom Diegel.

Recent Activity

Other than a few shallow, damp sluffs on sustained steep slopes, I found the snowpack rather well-behaved Wednesday. However, all it takes is one rowdy snowball in the mosh pit to get things going.

To view additional trip reports and recent avalanche activity, simply click here.

Snow and Weather

A stunning image recently captured by Park City Powder Cat guide extraordinaire Johnny Adolphson.

Currently-

Skies are clear, the Super Pink moon wanes, and temperatures currently hover in the low 20's. East and southeast winds blow just 10-20 mph, even along the high peaks. Riding and turning conditions are aspect and elevation dependent. Upper elevation, wind sheltered, north facing slopes still harbor a few elusive ribbons of cold, chalky snow. However, more reliable and consistently supportable corn surfaces exist on mid elevation terrain facing the south half of the compass. Of course, timing is everything and the harvest reliably starts coming on right around 09:00.

Uinta weather network info is found here. Simply click on the Western Uinta tab.

For today-

It'll be a stunning day in the mountains with mostly sunny skies, light winds, and temperatures climbing into the mid 40's.

Futurecast-

Unsettled weather slides into the region late Saturday and a cold front with limited moisture is slated for Sunday.

Additional Info

Information on outdoor recreation - The State of Utah created this webpage with information about recreating on both state and federal public lands during the current health crisis.

Skiing and riding at closed ski resorts - Some resorts allow access now, and some do not. Please check HERE for the latest info on ski area access.

New to the backcountry (including riding at closed resorts) - Watch the award-winning, 15 minute Know Before You Go video, or take the 5-part, free online-learning series.

General Announcements

The information in this forecast expires in 24 hours, but will be updated by 7:00 AM Saturday Apr. 11th.

This forecast is updated daily by 7:00 AM.

In the mean-time, if you see or trigger an avalanche or just wanna let me know what you're seeing you can reach me directly at 801-231-2170

The information in this forecast is from the US Forest Service which is solely responsible for its content.

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