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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon on
Sunday morning, November 25, 2012

Terrain to avoid- steep, upper elevation, north facing slopes above treeline where fresh wind drifts may still be sensitive to the weight of a rider and there's an isolated possibility of human triggered avalanches breaking to the ground.

LOW avalanche danger exists on wind sheltered slopes, South facing terrain, and slopes that were bare prior to the early November storm.

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Special Announcements

Mirror Lake Highway is a mess and plowing is done for the season. Wolf Creek Pass remains open, but don't let the easy access to nearby terrain lull you into a false sense of security. Be prepared for your own self rescue. Wear and know how to use a beacon, shovel, and probe.

Weather and Snow

High pressure remains camped out over the region giving us partly cloudy skies this morning. Winds are blowing 20-30 mph along the high peaks and temperatures are inverted. At the trailheads it's in the mid 20's and along the ridges temperatures barely dipped into the low 30's overnight. Wednesdays nukin' southwesterly winds wreaked havoc on the eastern front. Much of the upper elevation wind exposed terrain now resembles a moonscape comprised of breakable crust, windboard, and rocks. But wait.... there's more. Among all the variable conditions there may be a patch or two of soft settled snow on wind sheltered slopes facing the north half of the compass.

Recent snow and avalanche observations can be found here.

Wondering why last winter was so crazy? Click here to watch the 2011-12 Utah Winter Review... an excellent recap of last years conditions.

Recent Avalanches

No recent avalanche activity to report.

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Avalanche Problem #1
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

We're finding the recent wind deposited snow to be stiff and unreactive. However, given the size of the Uinta range, I bet if you went hunting for a wind slab sensitive to your additional weight, you could find it. Trouble is, given the thin snow cover and all the obstacles barely hidden under the snow, triggering even a small slide could have body beating consequences. Best to play it safe and avoid steep, wind loaded slopes facing the north half of the compass.

Avalanche Problem #2
New Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

Given the overall depth of our snow, we've seen a lot worse snowpack structure in past years. While we haven't seen or heard of any slides breaking to old October snow I'm not ready to completely discount the possibility. Yes, you'd really have to go out of your way to find terrain where you could trigger a slide that breaks to the ground, but given the miserable consequences of going for a ride in an avalanche it's worth mentioning. I'd continue to be suspicious of steep, rocky, upper elevation north facing terrain where triggering a slide could result in a season ending injury.

Additional Information

A weak cold front slides through the region today, though it's impact will be negligible... perhaps a few clouds along with cooler temperatures. Highs shouldn't vary much from where we're at this morning. West and southwest winds will be a nuisance along the high ridges where they'll be gusting into the mid 30's. Dry and mild high pressure builds for the first half of the upcoming week. Computer models continue to suggest a mild and wet pattern for next weekend. I'll have more details on strength and timing of these systems for the midweek update.

General Announcements

Remember your information can save lives. If you see anything we should know about, please participate in the creation of our own community avalanche advisory by submitting snow and avalanche conditions. You can call me directly at 801-231-2170, email [email protected], or email by clicking HERE

This is a great time of year to schedule a free avalanche awareness presentation for your group or club. You can contact me at 801-231-2170 or email [email protected]

Donate to your favorite non-profit –The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center. The UAC depends on contributions from users like you to support our work.

The information in this advisory is from the US Forest Service which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.

The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but will be updated by 7:00 AM Wednesday November 28th.

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