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Out of date — this forecast expired 7 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Heads up.... northeast winds drifted snow onto unusual terrain features, especially those with a westerly component to its aspect-

In the wind zone at and above treeline, steep, wind drifted slopes offer MODERATE avalanche danger and human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE.

While more the exception than the rule, avalanches breaking into deeper, buried weak layers remains a distinct possibility. Usual suspects include- steep, rocky, upper elevation terrain, especially slopes exhibiting a thin, shallow snowpack. Remember- any slide that breaks to old snow, immediately ruins your day.

Lose the wind and you lose most of the hazard.

Wind sheltered, low and mid elevation slopes with no steep terrain above or adjacent to where you're riding offers LOW avalanche danger and human triggered avalanches are UNLIKELY.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    2

    Pretty easy to see what's going on with winds at upper elevations. Data is from Lofty Lake Peak. (11,186') where northeast winds ramped up yesterday right around lunchtime.

    Winds were all over the map prior to Monday's storm, but eventually switched to the northeast yesterday. Along the high ridges, there's no shortage of light density to blow around and whip into fresh drifts that'll react to our additional weight. Here's the tricky part... this is an unusual wind direction for us and it'll drift snow onto unusual terrain features, especially those with a westerly aspect to its compass orientation.

    So here's an easy way to move around safely in our mountains today... simply steer clear of any fat, rounded piece of snow, especially if it sounds hollow like a drum. Found mostly on the leeward side of upper elevation ridges, strong winds also created fresh drifts lower down-slope than we usually expect and around terrain features like chutes and gullies. More the exception than the rule, a rogue wind slab could break deeper and wider than you might anticipate, creating a slide that quickly gets out of hand.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    3

    There was hardly any water weight associated with yesterday's storm and this isn't like other Uinta setups where the snowpack is teetering on the edge. As a matter of fact, most terrain offers a deep pack, recent warm temperatures have helped it gain strength, and it's happy in its own skin. However, steep, rocky, upper elevation terrain and slopes that avalanched near the ground earlier in the season remain suspect. So, while so much of our terrain is good to go, if you're travels take you to steep, technical slopes today, especially those with a thin, shallow snowpack, think about your exit strategy and the consider the consequences of triggering a slide that has the potential to break deeper and wider than you might expect. Or... with all the good riding out there and miles of terrain to choose from, simply avoid slopes with these characteristics.

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Recent Activity

No significant avalanche activity to report.

To view additional trip reports and recent avalanche activity, simply click here.

Snow and Weather

Currently-

Yesterday's storm delivered a fairly uniform 6" of light density snow across the range, but it looks like The North Slope may have squeezed out a few additional inches overnight. Brief high pressure moved into the region last night, skies cleared, and temperatures cratered like a turn of the millennium dot com stock option... crashing well below zero and registering -10 degrees at the upper elevations. Adding insult to injury, northeast winds blow in the mid 20's along the high ridges creating wind chill factors to -34 degrees... ouch. I think our big, open, upper elevation terrain took a bit of a hit from recent winds, but with total settled snow depths averaging over five feet, the range is white, the coverage remarkable, and your options pretty limitless.

Uinta weather network info is found here. Simply click on the Western Uinta tab.

For today-

Look for mostly sunny skies and temperatures barely cracking into single digits. Northeast winds blowing in the 20's and 30's are gonna be a nuisance along the ridges.

Futurecast-

Snow returns midweek, temperatures begin to warm, and we should see strong winds ramp up to round out the work week.

Additional Info

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General Announcements

The information in this forecast expires in 24 hours, but will be updated by 7:00 AM Wednesday Feb. 5th.

This forecast is updated daily by 7:00 AM.

In the mean-time, if you see or trigger an avalanche or just wanna let me know what you're seeing you can reach me directly at 801-231-2170

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

You can email me directly [email protected]

The information in this forecast is from the US Forest Service which is solely responsible for its content.

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