Avalanche forecast

Uintas

Utah Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

  • Alpine
  • Treeline
  • Below treeline
Open full map
Out of date — this forecast expired 4 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Heads up.... avy danger remains deceptively tricky. Triggering a slide today will throw a day ruining curve ball your way-

Look for CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger on all steep, mid and upper elevation slopes, especially those facing the north half of the compass, where stiff wind drifted snow rests atop weak sugary snow. Human triggered avalanches breaking deeper and wider than you might expect are LIKELY. In addition, last weeks winds made their way into lower elevation shady slopes where you'll find a MODERATE avalanche danger and human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE. Even low elevation terrain got into the mix and you could get surprised in steep terrain right near the trailhead. Think of slopes like the infamous Mill Hollow slide path.

LOW avalanche danger is found on low and mid elevation south facing slopes and human triggered avalanches are UNLIKELY.

Here's your exit strategy... find a mellow, low angle south facing slope or big open meadow with no steep slopes above or adjacent to where you're traveling and practice your riding skills like carving deep trenches in fresh snow. Remember, don't get too throttle happy because it's still low tide and there's plenty of reef barely hidden underneath our recent storm snow. With a significant danger of hitting rocks, stumps, and other obstacles, you'll wanna tone it down today and don't let a buried treasure ruin your season.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    3

    Once initiated, a fresh drift like the one pictured above, may break into weaker layers of the snowpack as it crashes down on the slope below, triggering a slide that gets quickly out of hand.

    Winds have been blowing for days and there's no shortage of fresh snow available for transport. Problem is... newly formed drifts conceal older wind drifted snow that formed early in the week. So, yes... the entire deal is a bit more complicated than meets the eye. In addition, the snowpack has gained a substantial amount of buoyancy and will feel strong and solid underneath us. But remember- hard, dense snow can give us a false sense of snow stability, allowing us to get out further onto a slope before it fails and brings the entire roof down on top of us. Found mostly on the leeward side of upper elevation ridges, due to the strength and duration of winds, I'd also be on the lookout for fresh drifts around terrain features like chutes and gullies. In either case, both new and older drifts now rest on weak, faceted, older snow and that means avalanches are gonna be easy to trigger.

    Obvious signs of unstable snow include cracking, collapsing, and whoomping noises as well as natures freebie... natural avalanches!

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    3

    Here's the setup

    The good news... we're off to a great start and the Uinta are white and travel is mostly easy. The bad news is... two weeks of dry, cold weather during mid November, turbo charged the faceting process, creating a layer of weak, sugary facets on the snow surface. Prior to last Tuesdays big storm, the weakest snow was found on shady slopes, but is now camouflaged by several rounds of storm snow, making it hard to detect.

    Here's where the rubber hits the road and what makes things tricky right now... weak faceted snow is our new problem child with the unruly characteristics of a persistent weak layer (PWL) and it's struggling to adjust to our latest round of snow, water, and wind.

    The most significant and most dangerous avalanche dragon is found on mid and upper elevation slopes facing the north half of the compass. Wind sheltered terrain isn't immune to human triggered avalanches, but slides will be smaller, pockety in nature, and not as well connected.

Additional Info

And we've been super busy this summer upgrading the western Uinta weather station network and this real-time info is found HERE (click weather stations, and then on the Western Uinta tab)

Your observations are important, so please let me know what you're seeing... click HERE and contribute to this amazing community-based program

Special Announcement

Join the Utah Avalanche Center and the Division of Outdoor Recreation to celebrate the Fourth Annual Avalanche Awareness week, from December 4 - December 11. Click HERE to view the full list of events for the week. Mirror Lake Highway is closed for the season. SR-35 (Wolf Creek Pass) remains open.

Recent Activity

No mystery here near the Mill Hollow Trailhead on the way to snag a Christmas tree... a weak snowpack was overloaded by Friday's robust storm, producing widespread avalanche activity across the range.

Plenty of avalanche activity this week and the common theme is this... avalanches triggered from a distance, breaking 12"-24" deep, failing on weak faceted snow formed during the very cold, mid November dryspell. More deets found HERE.

Snow and Weather

Nowcast- Under a veil of thickening clouds, temperatures remained mild overnight and currently register in the mid 20's and low 30's. Southerly winds are rather well-behaved, blowing in the teens and mid 20's even along the high peaks. No new snow in the past 24 hours, but that shouldn't deter you from getting out and getting after it.The snowpack has a good deal of body, coverage is quite good, and this combo delivers all time early season riding and turning conditions.

Forecast- Look for increasing clouds and relatively warm temperatures hovering right around freezing. A storm is on the doorstep and should arrive overnight. In the meantime, southwest winds increase as the day wares on, becoming obnoxious, blowing in the 40's and 50's by days end.

Futurecast- Another storm system is slated to arrive late tonight and linger through Monday, bringing an additional 5-10 inches of snow.

While I was in the Mill Hollow zone yesterday, Ted's travels took him to Whitney Basin, Micheal J stomped around the Lower Weber Drainage, whilst Andy traveled south towards Tower Mountain. Trip reports and recent obs are found HERE.

General Announcements

Issued at 03:30 on Sunday December 4th, this forecast expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but will be updated by 07:00 Monday December 5th.

Before it gets too crazy, now is the time to book an avalanche awareness presentation for your group, club, or posse. You can reach Craig directly at 801-231-2170 or [email protected].

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.

Regions covered