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Out of date — this forecast expired 9 months ago.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 breaking several feet deep, failing on weak snow near the ground are POSSIBLE, especially in steep, rocky terrain where dense, hard wind-drifts rest on top of weak, faceted snow.

My strategy is avalanche avoidance... so I’m sticking to low angle, wind sheltered, upper-elevation, south-facing aspects, where I can find good coverage and reduced avalanche danger.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2

    Guilty until proven otherwise, Trevor pointing to an avalanche he and Andy safely triggered from a distance yesterday.

    Above about 9,000' on slopes facing the north half of the compass, early season snow grew weak and sugary during the November dryspell and is now buried 1-3 feet beneath last weekend's storm. Our problem child, persistent slab avalanches, are found on shady, upper-elevation, rocky slopes and once initiated, can break 1-2 feet deep and a couple hundred feet wide. Yesterday, in addition to triggering avalanches remotely, our team of snowpros experienced multiple red flags, like cracking and loud, booming whoomphs. Remember, this is the kind of avalanche dragon we can provoke remotely or from a distance, meaning we don't have to be on a steep slope to trigger the slide.

    Look, you don't have to be a snow scientist to take a deeper peak under the snowpack's hood and see what we're talking about. It's not a big dig and a quick shovel excavation reveals a strong, dense slab over weak, sugary snow. That combo creates a trap-door feeling when we're trenching our sled or ski track.

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1

    Recent winds have enough loose snow to work with and continue loading 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 on 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 fat, rounded pillows of snow on the leeward side of ridges and around terrain features like chutes and gullies.

    A crew from a Level 1 avalanche course observes wind-textured snow and rounded pillows on a ridge near Wolf Creek Pass at 9,800'.

Recent Activity

Stubborn, yet reactive... yesterday, Andy and Trevor remoted this beefy pocket on a steep, rocky, north facing (polar) slope in the wind zone, just under Murdock Peak. This terrain is easily accessed by the still open Mirror Lake Highway. Yeah... you can step out of your car at Bald Mountain Pass and immediately walk into avalanche terrain. More on the slide HERE.

Ted took the sled out for a rip in the Whitney Basin and reported this well-connected yet relatively shallow, natural avalanche on Double Hill.

Lots of additional avalanche activity found HERE.

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Snow and Weather

Nowcast- An atmospheric river sliding to our north, pumps clouds intoour region and delivers winds from the west and southwest blowing in the 30's and 40's near the high peaks. We're on the southern fringe of storminess and it's mild with trailheads clocking in near freezing and ridgelines starting their day in the mid 20's F. The snow surface is hit or miss, but swaths of soft, creamy snow in wind sheltered terrain await your arrival.

Forecast- Clouds thicken throughout the day and we may see a couple traces of snow develop by about dinnertime. Winds from the west and northwest are gonna be obnoxious, blowing in the 50's and 60's near the high peaks. Balmy overnight temperatures hover in the upper 20's F.

Futurecast - Moody weather is on tap for Wednesday, but we'll be drying out as the day progresses. We get over hump day and it's high, dry, and warm through the weekend.

Visit Here For Additional Weather Information

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 found on lower-angle, upper elevation, wind-sheltered terrain. The pack is still extremely thin, and any major dude with half a heart, surely will tell you, my friend... getting jammed up by stumps, rocks, and logs lurking beneath the snow surface is still a huge concern.

Wolf Creek Pass was buzzing Sunday! Lots of familiar (and some beautiful :) faces 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 Tuesday, December 9th at 04:00 AM and expires 24 hours after it was issued. We'll update this information by 07:00 AM tomorrow.

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