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Out of date — this forecast expired 3 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Today's avalanche dragon is deceptive, it's tricky, and it's dangerous... tease the dragon or pull too hard on its tail and you'll instantly know who's boss!

CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger is found near and above treeline, especially in terrain facing the north half of the compass. Human triggered avalanches are LIKELY on steep, rocky, wind drifted slopes where an avalanche has the potential to break deeper and wider than you might expect. Any slide that breaks to weak layers buried deep in our snowpack will instantly ruin your day.

A MODERATE avalanche danger is found at lower elevations and human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE on steep, wind drifted slopes facing the north half of the compass. In addition, an older, rogue drift reactive to our additional weight may still be found in upper elevation south facing terrain

Mid and lower elevation sunny slopes offer LOW avalanche danger.

Note to self-

Hmm... avy danger sounds kinda Foxy (Lady :). And it feels like there's no reason to roll the dice and take my chances when there's amazing pow on low angle, wind sheltered, mid and low elevation terrain. Done, done, and done.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    4

    We suspect this meaty, tree snapping avalanche was triggered mid slope, pulling the rug out from underneath, allowing the entire roof to crash down on the riders below.

    The surface snow is dreamy and the solid, go anywhere snow under our skis, board or sled is gonna suggest bomb-dot-com, green light conditions. However, we've gotta think not only about the snow we're riding in, but also the snow we're riding on and we've got a slightly upside-down cake. Yeah... underneath the surface fluff, a strong layer of snow rests on a persistent weak layer (PWL) now buried several feet deep in our snowpack. Crawling around on Sunday's sled triggered slide helped me realize how easy it is to get enticed into tagging big terrain... well duh, it's because the snow feels strong and super stable. However, this false sense of security lures us into steeper terrain and well out onto the slope before we find one weaker portion of the snowpack, collapse it (WHOOMPH), pull the legs out from underneath, and now we're staring down the barrel of a very dangerous avalanche.

    Here's the deal... not every steep slope we ride is gonna slide. In fact, all the right components have to align. Common theme is... steep, rocky, heavily wind drifted slopes facing the north half of the compass remain sketchy and highly suspect. With all the great riding to be had, there's no reason the pull on the dogs tail, cause its bite is worse than its bark!

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1

    A 24 data dump from Windy Peak (10,662') shows a late night increase in westerly winds.

    There's no shortage of low density to blow around and a bump in the winds overnight, whips up a round of shallow, fresh drifts found mostly in upper elevation, leeward terrain facing the north half of the compass. Manageable in size and scope, fresh drifts are easy to detect by their fat, rounded appearance. Remember... today's wind slabs stack up on older drifts from last week and that combo delivers a slide big enough to catch you by surprise, easily taking you for an unexpected ride on a sustained, steep slope. Good news is... this is an easy avalanche problem to avoid. Lose the wind and you lose the problem.

Recent Activity

Yesterday, Joey and I investigated a large, snowmobile triggered slide in Upper Chalk Creek. Breaking 6'-10' deep and 600' wide resulting in a VERY CLOSE CALL on Sunday, February 11th,

For more Uinta observations and recent avalanche activity click HERE.

Snow and Weather

Nowcast- Westerly winds bumped into the mid 20's right after dinnertime, ushering in a band of high clouds, but I bet we see a short-lived clearing trend in the next few hours. Overnight low temperatures dipped into the mid teens across the board, and that's where they start the day at o'dark thirty. No new snow to report, but the riding and turning conditions remain all-time, especially on wind sheltered slopes.

Forecast- Look for increasing clouds on the tail end of the day as a weak disturbance grazes northern Utah. High temperatures climb into the mid 30's and southwest winds bump into the mid 20's and 30's near the high peaks. We squeeze a couple traces of snow out this storm with a break slated for early Wednesday.

Futurecast- A somewhat stronger system crosses the area Wednesday night through Thursday. Not a big storm, but 3"-6" will deliver a nice reset.

Sure you can follow us on Insta, FB, and X (formerly known as Twitter). More importantly, follow the rainbow, which leads to the UAC stoke-mobile eastbound on I-80, which of course leads to sunny skies, fresh pow, and maybe even a unicorn inside that trailer :)

Snow coverage is excellent with soft, dry powder on the polars, whilst a zipper, heat crust is found on the solars.

Total snow depths/total water at Uinta SNOTEL sites:

Chalk Creek #1 (9,171') - 57"/13.8"

Hayden Fork (9,130') - 46"/11.4"

Trial Lake (9,992) - 70"/15.3

Wolf Creek Peak (9,796) - 64"/13.9

Currant Creek (7,915') - 41"/9.5"

Strawberry Divide (8,123') - 52"/14.4"

Additional Info

The Uinta weather station network was upgraded this summer and all that real-time info is found HERE. Simply click on "western Uinta" tab and then "weather stations" tab.

We are always looking for snow and avalanche observations or just general riding conditions. So... if you see something, say something. You can reach me directly at [email protected] or 801-231-2170. Also, if you're looking for more avy education opportunities for yourself, your crew, or your club please don't hesitate to reach out to me and we'll find a presentation, class, or clinic for ya!

General Announcements

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Issued at 0400 on Tuesday, February 13th this forecast will be updated by 0700 Wednesday, February 14th, 2024.

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.

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