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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon for
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
In the wind zone, at and above treeline the avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE and human triggered avalanches are possible on all steep, wind drifted slopes, especially those with a westerly component to their aspect.
While not quite as widespread, I think winds penetrated mid elevation terrain where you'll find pockets of MODERATE danger on steep slopes with recent deposits of wind drifted snow.
Heads up- more pronounced in the wind zone and on slopes with a thin snowpack, an avalanche triggered in steep, rocky terrain has the potential to quickly get out of hand if it breaks into deeper buried weak layers near the ground.
If you're looking for LOW avalanche danger, simply head to wind sheltered slopes with no steep terrain above or connected to where you're riding or rip deep trenches in big, open meadows.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Special Announcements
Huge thanks to Paul and Rich Weller along with all the staff at Weller's Recreation in partnership with Ski-doo for once again stepping up to the plate to provide a "loaner sled" to the UAC for the 2018-19 winter season. This whole crew is instrumental, helping us maintain our state-of-the-art avalanche forecasts along with sled specific avalanche outreach and education.
In addition-
Recent storms have brought an end to plowing and maintenance for both Mirror Lake Highway and Wolf Creek Pass and these roads are closed for the winter.
Weather and Snow
It was good while it lasted... but powder punishing east and northeast winds ramped up midday and continued blowing 30-50 mph throughout the night. Clear skies ring in the New Year along with some diesel gelling temperatures. Currently, the mercury hovers between -10 and -5 degrees. Coupled with ridgetop winds in the 30's it's a dangerously cold -33 degrees along the high peaks. Riding and turning conditions are hit or miss up high where recent winds have created a variety of snow surfaces and wind funk. However, lose a little elevation, head to wind sheltered west facing terrain, and you'll be rewarded with cold, shallow, pow. .
Above is recent hourly data from Trial Lake (9,945') along with wind data from Windy Peak (10,662'). To view more regional weather stations click here.
Recent Avalanches
No significant avalanche activity to report.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Yesterday's east and northeast winds cranked into the 40's and 50's along the high ridges. Not only is that a peculiar direction for us, it was also a multi-hour, sustained wind event. With no shortage of snow available for transport, fresh batches of wind drifted snow are gonna be today's most obvious avalanche problem, but here's the wild card.... they formed in unusual locations and on slopes we normally see stripped by the wind. So for today, I think we'll find the vast majority of fresh drifts lurking along the leeward side of upper elevation ridges, but due to sustained strong winds, I bet slabs formed a little lower downslope than we usually experience. In addition, look for recent drifts cross-loaded around terrain features like chutes and gully walls. And here's yet another wild, wild card... I think drifts will be deeper, break wider, and will pack more of a punch than you might expect. As always, look for and avoid any fat, rounded piece of snow especially if it sounds hollow like a drum. Remember- cracking out in front of your skis, board, or sled are big red flags to unstable snow.
Road cuts and small slopes similar to the kind of terrain you want to ride are great "test slopes".... meaning, if you trigger a small slide the consequences are negligible. While I'm riding, I gather a lot of information by stomping on slopes with these characteristics and see how they react before I decide to get into big, committing terrain.
Avalanche Problem #2
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Mark was in the Iron Mountain zone Saturday and succinctly describes the setup he observed as well as what we might expect for the future.
While remaining relatively quiet for the past few weeks, additional loading from recent winds may help to bring dormant weak layers back to life. Remember- "persistent weak layers" in the snowpack are a headache because they remain problem children for long periods of time. And all we need to do is find one weakness, maybe around a bush or rock that we can't see buried underneath the snow, collapse the pack, and now we're getting worked by a large piece of moving of snow. The usual suspect terrain comes to mind- steep, rocky slopes with a shallow snowpack, periphery terrain which harbors a thin, weak snowpack, and slopes that already avalanched earlier this year. So the way I'm avoiding this scenario is by simply avoiding the terrain where this setup exists.
Weston was in Smith-Moorehouse Sunday and got this piece of snow to slump, failing on weak snow near the ground. He describes the setup as, " A steep rollover, cohesion less snow, a bit shallower than other spots and rocks underneath. "
Above, Currant Creek Peak clearly illustrates the type of terrain that Weston described, only on a grander scale. Steep, rocky slopes, with a thin snowpack... complex terrain like in the image above is the kind of place where you could trigger a slide that breaks to weak snow near the ground.
Additional Information
Sunny and cold weather is on tap today with highs only reaching into the single digits. Northeast winds gradually relax as the day wares on. A warming trend begins tomorrow and continues through Friday with dry conditions prevailing.
General Announcements
The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but will be updated by 7:00 AM Wednesday January 2nd, 2019.
If you're getting out and about, please let me know what you're seeing especially if you see or trigger and avalanche. I can be reached at [email protected] or 801-231-2170
It's also a good time to set up one of our very popular avalanche awareness classes. Reach out to me and I'll make it happen.
This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done. This advisory is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.
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