Avalanche forecast

Uintas

Utah Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Alpine
No rating
Treeline
No rating
Below
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Out of date — this forecast expired 7 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

I'm cautiously optimistic a change in the weather pattern is in our future and the storm track becomes more active next week. Currently, there's hardly enough snow to recreate on and I'm not issuing an avalanche danger rating. However, once it does start snowing and blowing, weak, sugary, basal snow on upper elevation slopes facing the north half of the compass will come to life and those are gonna be the slopes to avoid.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1

    Upper elevation slopes facing the north half of the compass harbor weak, shallow, old snow left over from early season October storms. Here's the problem... this terrain is the only game in town and this is exactly the type of terrain where you could trigger an avalanche that may break a bit deeper and wider than you might expect. Remember, even a small slide will reveal obstacles hidden under the thin facade of our early season snowpack, resulting in a season ending injury if you get raked over stumps, rocks, or deadfall.

    Ted was around Whitney Basin prior to yesterdays storm and found upper elevation, shady terrain holding snow from the early and mid October storms. While the other half of the compass offers late Autumn trail riding.

    It'll be a minute or two before we're riding, but in the mean time here's a few things to remember

    Hitting rocks and stumps is the biggest hazard right now. And....

    JUST 'CAUSE YOU CAN SEE YOUR RIG PARKED BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD NEAR BALD MOUNTAIN OR WOLF CREEK PASS DOESN'T NECESSARILY MAKE THE SLOPE YOU CHOOSE TO RIDE MORE SAFE

Special Announcement

The First Annual Avalanche Awareness Week is December 2-7 We have a week full of fun and educational events planned. Check out the schedule here.

As part of your early season tune-up, consider taking an avalanche class. We have lots of avalanche education classes listed already, from Know Before You Go to Companion Rescue to our Backcountry 101. Click on the Education menu on our webpage for a full list of classes from the UAC and other providers. Check out the Know Before You Go eLearning program for free, online, avalanche classes.

Please join me on Friday Dec. 13th at 6:30 for a free avalanche awareness presentation in partnership with Wasatch County SAR. It's guaranteed to be entertaining, informative, and I'll share safety tips that allow you to rip powder safely and come home to your families at the end of the day.... pretty good deal... huh?

Huge thanks to Mike Poulsen and all the crew at Tri-City in partnership with Polaris for the continued support they offer the UAC. Here, Mike hands the keys of two loaner sleds over to Mark and Craig for the 2019-2020 winter season.

Recent Activity

No new avalanche activity to report

Snow and Weather

The midweek storm was a bust for us as it took a scenic route, focusing on the southern half of the state. As a result, the Uinta's only stacked up 3-4" of heavy, dense snow along the high peaks. Under mostly cloudy skies, temperatures are in the teens and winds are light and northerly. The bad news is... the snowpack has taken a hard hit the past two weeks, shrinking right before our eyes. The badder news is... there's hardly enough snow to move around on and in the absence of additional snow, our shallow pack loses its strength, transforming into a very weak, sugary mess. This makes for a potentially dangerous setup once winter decides to return from its hiatus.

Above is 24 hour weather data from Windy Peak (10,662') and Chalk Creek (9,169')

Click here for more real time Uinta winds, temperatures, and snow depth.

Ted was around Whitney Basin last week and found upper elevation, shady terrain holding snow from the early and mid October storms. While the other half of the compass offers late Autumn trail riding.

It'll be a minute or two before we're riding, but in the mean time here's a few things to remember:

JUST 'CAUSE YOU CAN SEE YOUR RIG PARKED BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD DOESN'T NECESSARILY MAKE THE SLOPE YOU CHOOSE TO RIDE MORE SAFE

General Announcements

I'll refresh this information by 7:30 AM Saturday Nov. 23rd with a weekend update and once the snow begins to fly in earnest, this forecast will be updated each day by 7:30 AM.

But while you're waiting....

This is a great time of year to schedule one of our free avy awareness presentations.

You can email me directly [email protected]

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