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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon on
Sunday morning, January 26, 2020
In the wind zone, at and above treeline, you'll encounter MODERATE avalanche danger. Human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE on steep, wind drifted slopes, especially those with an easterly component to its aspect.
Here's the outlier- while becoming harder to initiate, human triggered avalanches breaking into deeper, buried weak layers remains a distinct possibility. Usual suspects include- steep, rocky, upper elevation terrain facing the north half of the compass. Remember- any slide that breaks to old snow will immediately ruin your day.
Lose a little elevation and you lose most of the problem. 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.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Special Announcements
January 24 - February 6
Are you looking to improve your avalanche skills? We are offering a Motorized Backcountry 101: Introduction to Avalanches class on February 6 & 8 out of The Edge Powersports and Thousand Peaks Ranch in the Western Uintas. Click HERE for more details.
Weather and Snow
Currently-
Above the Salt Lake valley fog layer, skies are partly cloudy, temperatures register in the teens and mid 20's, and westerly winds blow 15-30 mph along the high ridges. With over five feet of settled snow, the range is white and the coverage quite remarkable. And on a go-anywhere base, the riding and turning conditions aren't too shabby either :)
Uinta weather network info is found here. Simply click on the Western Uinta tab.
For today-
Look for increasing clouds and light winds. Temperatures rise into the mid 30's and snow develops by late in the day. It's a quick hitter, but we might be able to squeak out 2"-4" of snow by late Monday morning.
Futurecast-
High pressure briefly builds for Tuesday, with another weak system slated for midweek. A ridge settles in for the remainder of the work week, providing sunny skies and warm temperatures.
Recent Avalanches
No significant avalanche activity to report.
To view additional trip reports and recent avalanche activity, simply click here.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
JG's beautiful snowpit profile clearly illustrates the state of our snowpack and with 65" of settled snow, we should be psyched! More on JG's travels found here.
I'm encouraged by what I'm seeing and it feels like the snowpack is happy in its own skin. As a matter of fact, the recent string of warm days, brings slow change over time, helping the snowpack settle and gain strength. In addition, this combo helps the snowpack consolidate and heal, decreasing the chance of triggering a deep, scary avalanche... and that's good news. However, we're not quite out of the woods just yet and I still think steep, rocky, upper elevation terrain facing the north half of the compass remains suspect. So, while so much of our terrain is good to go, if you're travels take you to steep, technical slopes today, 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.
Avalanche Problem #2
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
I haven't found much in the way of fresh wind drifts in my travels, but I always need to remind myself that the Uinta's are a big place and the range channels wind and snow through the mountains in a unique, terrain driven fashion. More the exception than the rule, a rogue wind slab could break deeper and wider than you might expect, creating a slide that quickly gets out of hand. Your best bet for avoidance is to simply steer clear of any fat, rounded piece of snow, especially if it sounds hollow like a drum.
Ted was in the Whitney area yesterday and had this comment regarding the image of Double Hill".... "This textured look is a good clue to winds blowing across the slope from left to right creating some localized wind drifted snow.​​​​​​" More on Ted's travels found here.
Additional Information
Thanks to the generous support of our Utah ski resorts and Ski Utah, we have discount lift tickets available. All proceeds support the UAC. Get your tickets HERE.
Get one of these cool t-shirts to support the UAC and other avalanche centers across the U.S. INFO
General Announcements
The information in this forecast expires in 24 hours, but will be updated by 7:00 AM Monday Jan. 27th.
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
It'll be a minute or two before we're riding, 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]
The information in this forecast is from the US Forest Service which is solely responsible for its content.
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