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Out of date — this forecast expired 6 years ago.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

Making up a small portion of the terrain available to ride in today, in the wind zone, at and above treeline, pockets of MODERATE avalanche danger exist. Human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE on steep leeward slopes facing the north half of the compass, particularly those with an easterly component to its aspect. And remember.... any slide triggered may break deeper and wider than you might expect.

Lose some elevation, you lose the problem, have a great day of riding, and high fives await when you roll home safely to your family. Wind sheltered mid and low elevation terrain offers generally LOW avalanche danger.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2

    Not particularly large, but big enough to boss you around, slam you into the group of trees below and ruin your day, the slide in the image above was triggered Friday on a steep wind drifted slope near Hoyt Peak

    It doesn't take long to realize, the range is about as white and fat as it gets and we've got a supportable, go-anywhere kinda base. As a matter of fact, most of our midweek storm snow instabilities have settled, are happy in their own skin, and you can get on plenty of steep slopes without incident. The good news is.... most of our terrain offers "green-light" avy danger. Now the heads up... if you're getting into steep, technical terrain today, don't let your guard down because there are isolated areas where recent wind drifts are camouflaged under light, fluffy snow, making them hard to detect. Once triggered, they'll definitely pack enough punch to boss you around.

    The key to riding safely today is... look for and avoid fat, rounded slopes like in the image above, especially if they feel or sound hollow like a drum. In addition, be flexible with your travels plans and adjust objectives if you're starting to see or feel obvious clues to unstable snow like shooting cracks, sudden collapses, or the biggest clue to avalanches and of course, that's avalanches!

Special Announcement

If you rely on the UAC forecasts each day you get out, consider making a donation during our Spring Awareness Campaign to help us continue providing the avalanche forecasts and education you rely on. The UAC encourages everyone to follow direction from federal, state, city and county officials. The following is from Joe Dougherty, spokesman for the Utah Division of Emergency Management:

Though outdoor recreation is still permitted under the governor’s Stay Safe/Stay Home directive, we recommend that people maintain a distance of at least 6 feet.

Be extra cautious to avoid injuries outdoors. We are working with our hospital systems to conserve as much personal protective equipment as possible in case of hospitalizations.

Most outdoor injuries can be prevented. Know the conditions and know your limits so you don’t end up in a hospital.

Recent Activity

A late morning uptick in snowfall intensities and slight bump in wind quickly changed the avy conditions yesterday. In just a matter of a few minutes, and aided with a brief shot of visibility, Ted and I discovered this mini avalanche on a steep, relatively wind sheltered slope. Not particularly dangerous, but we used this information to alter our original objectives of stomping around on steep wind drifted terrain in the wind zone. Because the biggest clue to avalanches is... avalanches!

Meanwhile, back at the inter-webz, the viddy above appeared on our radar yesterday, illustrating the midweek touchiness on steep, wind drifted slopes on the south half of the range.

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

Snow and Weather

Currently-

The gift that keeps giving! A band of moisture blossomed over the range early yesterday morning, quickly stacking up nearly 6" of ultra-light density, chin tickling fluff. And while clouds lifted for a short time over the mountains late Saturday, they're back and hover over the range this morning. Currently, temperatures register in the teens, and southwest winds are generally light, blowing just 10-15 mph even along the high peaks.

Late March riding and turning conditions are about as good as they get, especially on mid elevation, wind sheltered slopes.

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

For today-

Expect mostly cloudy skies with occasional snow showers, mainly during the afternoon. High temperatures climb into the low to mid 30's and southwest winds remain generally light, blowing 15-25 mph along the high peaks.

Futurecast-

Another weak wave is slated for late Monday. Computer models are all over the map for Tuesday and beyond, so confidence is rather low regarding storminess.

Additional Info

The snow and sunscreen application gods must've listened to Ted's prayers yesterday. In a matter of about 30 minutes after I snapped this image, clouds boiled over our area, instantly dumping about 6" of snow in a matter of a couple hours.... spring time in the Uinta's is a special thing. 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 Monday Mar. 30th.

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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