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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon on
Monday morning, December 23, 2019
In the wind zone at mid and upper elevations, a MODERATE avalanche danger exists for both new and old snow issues. Primarily found on steep slopes facing the north half of the compass, terrain with easterly component to its aspect remains super suspect as well. Human triggered avalanches initiated on fresh wind drifted slopes and then breaking to old snow near the ground are POSSIBLE, particularly in rocky terrain harboring weak, pre-existing, early season snow.
Lose a little elevation and you lose much of the problem. Wind sheltered, low and mid elevation terrain and big open meadows with no steep slopes above or adjacent to where you're riding generally offers LOW avalanche danger and human triggered avalanches are unlikely.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Weather and Snow
Currently-
Under mostly cloudy skies, temperatures remained quite mild overnight... registering in the mid to upper 20's. Southerly winds subsided somewhat since cranking in the 70's yesterday, currently blowing 25-40 mph along the high peaks. No new snow has fallen for a week, but with total snow depths averaging just over three feet, the range has excellent early season coverage. There's a lot of wind jacked snow out there, but wind sheltered slopes offer soft, creamy snow.
Uinta weather network info is found here. Simply click on the Western Uinta tab.
For today-
Expect mostly cloudy skies with temperatures climbing into the 30's. Southerly blow in the 30's with gusts near 50 mph. along the high peaks. Overnight we should see light snow develop with minimal accumulations expected by tomorrow morning.
Future cast-
Recent Avalanches
No significant new avalanche activity to report for nearly a week.
To view trip reports and recent avalanche activity, simply click here.
Ad
Avalanche Problem #1
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
It's been nearly a week since we've seen or heard of any avalanches failing on weak, old snow layers near the ground... and that's good news. And while stability tests in our snowpits confirm that the pack is strengthening, I still don't entirely trust it and I'm going to continue avoiding terrain that harbors questionable snowpack structure. Of course the usual suspects come to mind... steep, rocky, upper elevation slopes facing the north half of the compass is bulls-eye terrain and should be considered suspect. With the great coverage across the range and so many other riding options, there's no reason to roll the dice or pull on the dogs tail.
Avalanche Problem #2
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Yesterday's wind drifts felt stubborn and welded in place. And while there's not a tremendous amount of snow available to blow around, southerly winds continue cranking along the high ridges and the Uinta's are a huge range. That said, I bet there's a few fresh drifts forming along the leeward side of upper elevation ridges and around terrain features like chutes and gullies. Today's drifts are stubborn and hard, but not particularly sensitive to our additional weight. However, any drift triggered may break deeper and wider than you might expect. So, your best bet for avoidance is to simply steer clear of any fat, rounded piece of snow, especially if it looks chalky or sounds hollow like a drum. In addition, look for shooting cracks in the snow which are sure signs of unstable conditions.
Additional Information
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General Announcements
The information in this forecast expires in 24 hours, but will be updated by 7:30 AM Tuesday Dec. 24th.
This forecast is updated daily by 7:30 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.