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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Nikki Champion
Issued by Nikki Champion on
Tuesday morning, November 29, 2022
The avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE on all upper-elevation slopes where the 5-8" of new snow and fresh wind drifts are sitting atop weak faceted snow underneath. Human-triggered avalanches are likely and natural avalanches are possible. There is a MODERATE danger on low and mid-elevation slopes that got overall less wind and less snow. Evaluate snow and terrain carefully, and identify any features of concern.
There is still a significant danger of hitting rocks, stumps, and other obstacles. These hazards will be hard to see, but they will be easy to hit as they become covered with new snow. Go slow and be careful.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Special Announcements
Join the Utah Avalanche Center and the Division of Outdoor Recreation to celebrate the Fourth Annual Avalanche Awareness week, from December 4 - December 11. Click HERE to view the full list of events for the week.
Mirror Lake Highway is closed for the season. SR-35 (Wolf Creek Pass) remains open.
Weather and Snow
This morning, the skies are overcast and snow is still coming down. As of 5AM storm totals for the Western Uinta mountains are 5-8" snow(.40-.60" H20), favoring the upper elevation terrain. Mountain temperatures have plummeted into the low single digits F and wind chill is well below -20 F at upper elevations. Over the last 12 hours, the northwesterly winds have averaged 10-20 mph at mid-elevations, with some gusts near 40 mph at the uppermost elevation.
Today, a winter weather advisory remains in place for the Western Uinta mountains. We could see an additional 1-4" this morning. Skies will remain mostly cloudy with decreasing snowfall throughout the day and into the evening. Temperatures will remain in the single digits, and wind will remain northwesterly averaging 10-20 mph at mid-elevations and 20-30 mph at upper elevations with gusts up to 40 mph at the highest ridgelines.
This active pattern continues, with increasing southwest flow Thursday ahead of the next round of snow around the Friday timeframe.
Yesterday, I got out in the Wolf Creek Pass Zone (full observation HERE), a similar area as Mark and I got out in last week (last week's ob HERE.) Backcountry travel remains generally easy and riding conditions are pretty good for mid-November. Some wind and sun damage exists in the alpine and on the solar aspects, including both supportable solar crusts and thick wind drifts, but sheltered parts hold soft recrystallized snow with now a few inches of fresh on top.
A few key takeaways for the Western Uintas from before the storm:
  • Almost all slopes are snow-covered. The exception is steep, direct south-facing slopes which only have a few inches of snow. All other slopes have varying depths but are well covered.
  • Almost all slopes (except steep, direct south-facing) have lots of facets from top to bottom of the snowpack. The absolute weakest snow is on the surface on the north facing.
  • In wind-protected zones, the surface hoar from the two weeks of dry weather has been preserved and capped, and could lead to increased sensitivity.
Folks have been getting out, and looking at terrain find their insightful observations and trip reports are found HERE.
Recent Avalanches
No recent avalanches reported in the backcountry.
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Avalanche Problem #1
New Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
The Uinta Mountains have already received 5-8" of new snow since yesterday, with an additional 1-4" of snow forecasted for today. Avalanches in the new snow are possible, including long-running sluffs and sensitive soft slabs, especially during any period of higher precipitation intensity. The slopes that we will want to ride, are the slopes that held any snow before this storm system. The issue is, these slopes are exactly the ones where the snow has become weak and faceted, and the new snow likely won’t bond well too, and could cause the avalanche to fail deeply and be triggered remotely. Natural avalanches are possible.
Heads up: In wind-protected zones, the surface hoar from the two weeks of dry weather has been preserved and capped, and could lead to increased sensitivity of the new snow.
The good news is that this new snow should show you obvious signs of instability like collapsing, whumpfing, and shooting cracks. Look for these signs, and if you see them, this is your sign that the new snow has become cohesive and will produce a slab avalanche.
Overall, there is a lot of variability in snow surfaces throughout the backcountry right now. Most aspects hold old weak faceted snow, but some solar slopes have a breakable crust, and true south slopes could possess only dirt.What this means is that while avalanche activity may not be widespread immediately, with the increase in snow and winds, we have all the ingredients for avalanches and we will begin to see them occurring. Today, I am avoiding being on or underneath any slope steeper than 30 degrees on upper elevation slopes. Fortunately, the low-density snow makes for good riding conditions on lower-angled slopes.
Pit profile from Wolf Creek Pass yesterday, out of the wind zone. Find full observation HERE.
Avalanche Problem #2
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Over the last 24 hours winds have remained elevated, with gusts between 40-50 mph. These elevated winds will easily transport any new snow we get at mid and upper elevations.
These wind drifts will be generally shallow and isolated to terrain features that allow for drifting new snow to accumulate, such as ridges, sub-ridges, and gullies. Once these wind slabs form they will most likely rest on weak, faceted, old snow that will make them easy to trigger.
Look for obvious signs of wind-drifted snow, such as pillow-shaped slopes, cracking, and whumpfing, and avoid those slopes
Isolated cracking from Wolf Creek Pass yesterday.
Additional Information
And we've been super busy this summer upgrading the western Uinta weather station network and this real-time info is found HERE (click weather stations, and then on the Western Uinta tab)
Your observations are important, so please let me know what you're seeing... click HERE and contribute to this amazing community-based program
General Announcements
Before it gets too crazy, now is the time to book an avalanche awareness presentation for your group, club, or posse. You can reach Craig directly at 801-231-2170 or [email protected].
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.
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