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Out of date — this forecast expired 9 months ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

MODERATE avalanche danger exists at and above treeline on upper elevation slopes facing northwest through east. Human-triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE, breaking 1-2 feet deep in steep and rocky areas where dense wind-drifted snow sits atop a faceted, persistent weak layer near the ground.

To avoid taking a ride in even a small slide, I’m sticking to sheltered, upper-elevation, low-angle terrain on south-facing aspects, where I can find good coverage with reduced avalanche danger.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1

    Southwesterly winds averaging 20 MPH blew snow overnight and continued to load our weak snowpack structure. Over the past few days, fresh and sensitive drifts have been pressed into stiff hard slabs on the leeward sides of ridges and upper elevation slopes. Although stubborn, today's drifts will be 6-12 inches deep, and once triggered, could break deeper and wider than we might expect, falling into weak snow near the ground. It's a little tricky out there, but remember, we can steer clear of the hazard by looking for and avoiding wind-textured snow and large, rounded pillows near ridges and rocky start zones.

    Above, a Level 1 avalanche course and its students observe wind-textured snow and rounded pillows on a ridge near Wolf Creek Pass at 9,800'.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2

    Above 9,000' on the north half of the compass, old snow grew weak and sugary over the past month and is now buried between 1-3 feet beneath the new slab. Today's persistent slab avalanches exist on shady, upper-elevation, rocky slopes and can break 1-2 feet deep and up to a couple of hundred feet wide. During our travels yesterday we experienced a couple of red flags, like cracking and collapsing. So it's easy to break out the shovel and take a deeper look under the snowpack's hood. Quick excavation will reveal a dense slab over weak sugary snow, creating the trap-door feeling when trenching our sled or ski track. Remember, these types of avalanches can be triggered remotely or from a distance, meaning we don't have to be on the steep slope to trigger the slide.

    I am suspect of steep, rocky slopes with a northerly component and enough snow to ride, like the one above. This is the type of slope I am avoiding right now at all costs.

Recent Activity

No new avalanche activity has been reported in the past 24 hours, but some activity has been documented that occurred during the recent storm.

A small wind-slab that failed during strong winds on Saturday on a southeast facing slope around 9,800'.

Some slopes avalanched naturally during the storm like the one above on a north slope at 10,000', breaking 1 foot deep into weak snow at the ground.

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Snow and Weather

Nowcast- A small blip on the radar moved in overnight and out early this morning, leaving a trace of snow on the storm boards. Skies are covered this morning and paired with warm air, nearing 30°Fat 9,000'. Winds blowing from the west averaged 15 MPH with gusts into the 40s on upper-elevation peaks and ridgelines.

Forecast- As the day rolls on, expect skies to become partly cloudy around mid-morning, and things to feel warmer than normal with temperatures hovering in the 20s and 30s (°F). Winds blowing predominantly from the west continue averaging 15 MPH at upper elevations, with gusts into the 30s.

Futurecast - The train is slowing, and confidence in the mid-week system is shrinking. Unfortunately, it looks to be followed by a strong ridge of high pressure and warmer temperatures, above average, over the next few weeks.

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Travel Conditions - Snow depths across the range average 1-3 feet, the deepest near the North Slope and Mirror Lake Corridor. It's a mixed bag of snow quality and conditions, but we finally have enough coverage to get out and travel. Roadside attractions are finally starting to come into play with the best riding existing on lower-angle, upper elevation, wind-sheltered terrain. The pack is still extremely thin, and getting jammed up by stumps, rocks, and logs lurking beneath the surface is still a huge concern.

Wolf Creek Pass was buzzing yesterday! Everyone was out and about enjoying the fresh snow, beautiful day, and even some turns!

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 Monday, December 8th at 05:00 AM and expires 24 hours after it was issued. We'll update this information by 07:00 AM tomorrow.

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