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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon on
Sunday morning, December 29, 2019
In the wind zone at mid and upper elevations, MODERATE avalanche danger exists for both fresh wind drifts (manageable) and old snow issues (unmanageable). Primarily found on steep slopes facing the north half of the compass, 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
Learn how to read the forecast here
Weather and Snow
Currently-
Skies are overcast as temperatures struggle to creep out of negative territory. Northwest winds blow 10-20 mph along the high ridges where windchill factors register to -27 degrees... ouch. A few inches of cold fluff fell yesterday and the range has excellent early season coverage with total snow depths averaging just over 3' of settled snow.
Uinta weather network info is found here. Simply click on the Western Uinta tab.
For today-
Skies remain overcast and a few snow showers develop later this morning, though accumulations look nominal with just a couple inches of ultra light snow stacking up. It'll be cold, with temperatures barely getting into the teens and overnight lows crashing below zero. Northwest winds blow 15-25 mph along the ridges with gusts in the 30's near the high peaks.
Future cast-
A lull in the weather is expected Monday and Tuesday with an active pattern on tap to ring in the New Year. More details with timing and strength for tomorrows update... right now it looks like a good shot of water and snow!
Ted was on the east side of the range Friday and found very good coverage and excellent riding conditions in the Millcreek zone. More on his travels found here.
Recent Avalanches
Yesterday's couple inches of very light density snow coupled with ridgetop winds blowing in the 20's, created fresh drifts, reactive to the additional weight of a person yesterday. Easy to detect by their fat rounded appearance, this is today's main avalanche issue... see below.
To view trip reports and recent avalanche activity, simply click here.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
The chart above is a 24 hour run from Lofty Lake Peak at 11,186'.
Northeast winds bumped into the 20's and 30's for a few hours yesterday, loading upper elevation terrain in unusual locations and whipping up a fresh round of drifts on slopes with a westerly component to their aspect. While mostly manageable in size, if you're getting into high alpine terrain, today's wind slabs might break a bit wider and deeper than you'd expect and could boss you around. Found along the leeward side of upper elevation ridges and around terrain features like chutes and gullies, 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. In addition, look for shooting cracks in the snow which are sure signs of unstable conditions.
Avalanche Problem #2
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
I'm encouraged by what I'm seeing. The snowpack is slowly gaining strength and it's got body. It's not just a pile of weak, lifeless, sugary snow... and that's good news. As a matter of fact, the lack of avalanche activity reveals why it's been a over week since we've seen or heard of any avalanches failing on weak, old snow layers near the ground. However, I also know the snowpack structure suggests we're not quite out of the woods just yet. And here's why... there's a persistent weak layer near the ground and these weaknesses can take long periods of time to heal. I also know that it might be more difficult to trigger a slide, but once initiated, avalanches have a distinct possibility of breaking deeper and wider than I might expect. Look at where Ted's pit failed in the image above.
Personally, I don't entirely trust anything in the snowpack I can't manage, so 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 all 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.
The biggest clue to avalanches is.... avalanches! Occurring during the mid December storm, sure it's old news, but the slide in the image above, to the southeast of Tower Mountain, clearly illustrates the type of avalanche we're dealing when we talk about a persistent weak layer.
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.
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General Announcements
The information in this forecast expires in 24 hours, but will be updated by 7:00 AM Monday Dec. 30th.
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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