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Out of date — this forecast expired last year. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

For today, in the windzone at and above treeline, you'll find MODERATE avalanchedanger on slopes facing the north half of the compass, especially those with an easterly component to their aspect. Early morning storm snow and robust wind conspire to create a fresh drift or two, that'll react to our additional weight and human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE. In addition, while becoming more the exception than the rule, human triggered slides breaking deeper and wider than we might expect are still possible in steep, rocky terrain or slopes that have avalanched early in the season.

Most slopes facing the south half of the compass (solar) and lower elevation shady (polar) terrain offers generally LOW avalanche danger and human triggered avalanches are UNLIKELY.

Good news... the snowpack is becoming comfortable in its own skin and we're trending towards "open season"... let's just give it another minute or two and see how today's storm shakes out before stepping into big, committing terrain.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2

    A 24 hour data dump from Windy Peak (recently rising to 10,859'... though the jury's still deliberating :) recording average wind speed, gusts, and direction.

    A couple inches of snow team up with robust winds to form fresh, dense drifts on the leeward side of upper elevation ridges and terrain features like chutes and gullies. With a couple more inches of snow on tap, I suspect today's drifts are gonna grow in size and sensitivity. Easy to identify by their fat, rounded appearance, these aren't particularly rowdy pieces of snow. However, don't let your guard down, especially in the windzone above treeline, where a fresh wind slab could definitely pack a bigger punch then you might've bargained for. You know the program... lose the wind and you lose the problem. Simply steer yourself away from rounded pillows of snow, especially if they sound hollow like a drum.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    3

    Avy-savvy, Uinta forecaster Ted Scroggin knows the eastern front like no one else, stomped around Gold Hill Thursday and reports encouraging news for our snowpack problem children... "A quick pit on this east facing slope in Gold Hill showing a couple of the recent crust layers, but I was not finding any weak snow issues around them. My column tests just smashed down with progressively harder hits."

    Becoming more the exception than the rule, recent storm snow and wind have the potential to wake up the PWL avalanche dragon today, especially in terrain that has remained thin all season like slopes that avalanched earlier this winter. Here's the deal and here's where it gets tricky... we're not going to see obvious red flags like cracking, or hear big, booming whoomphing sounds or experience heart-stopping collapses. However, if you do some detective work and trench down a bit you'll find weak, faceted snow buried a couple feet below the snow surface. We might forget about the layering, but the snowpack has an amazing memory.

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Recent Activity

The last significant avalanche was a midweek cornice drop, producing a meaty slab on this steep wind drifted slope in Upper Humpy Basin. Otherwise it's been rather quiet. For more obs and avy's around the Beehive State click here

Snow and Weather

Nowcast- Thickening clouds rolled in overnight, delivering light snow with just about an inch recorded at most locations, while Trial Lake steps up with 3" of medium density snow to kick off the new day. Southwest winds are humming along in the 30's and 40's near the high peaks as temperatures hover in the mid to upper 20's.

Forecast- Look for a quick blast of snow this morning. Not a big storm, just a couple more inches on tap.... kinda like sliding in for a free topper at Mother Nature's, Swig drive-though lane. West and southwest winds continue their obnoxious run, blowing in the 30's near the high peaks. Temperatures bump into the low and mid 30's. Skies clear as the day progresses and overnight temperatures cool into the teens.

Futurecast- High pressure builds for Sunday, delivering a stunning day with mostly sunny skies, light winds and very warm temperatures climbing into the 40's. High and dry til the end of the work week.

Get it while you can, 'cause after today's storminess, it's gonna feel like spring has sprung!

Travel & Riding Conditions-

Cornices have grown exponentially in size. And while not particularly tender, slipping off one of these boxcar pieces of snow would feel like an unexpected elevator ride to the ground floor.

Additional Info

  • We come to you with heavy hearts and great sadness this morning to confirm an avalanche accident on Friday, March 7th near Hoyt Peak, involving 51 year old Micheal Janulaitis from Marion, Utah. Micheal used a snowbike to access the terrain, but was caught, carried, and killed in an avalanche while skiing a steep, northeast facing run on Hoyt Peak.Huge thanks to the Department of Public Safety, Park City Mountain Resort and Canyons Village Snow Safety and Ski Patrol teams, along with Wasatch Backcountry Rescue for the hard work recovering Micheal and returning him to his family. Micheal was a friend of Utah Avy and we feel privileged for the time we got to spend together. This is a tremendous loss for our backcountry family and we will miss him deeply. We are compiling accident details and a preliminary report is available here.

General Announcements

We are always looking for snow and avalanche observations or just general riding conditions. In the meantime 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 Saturday, March 22nd at 03:30 AM and expires 24 hours after it was issued.

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