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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Mark Staples
Issued by Mark Staples on
Saturday morning, February 13, 2021
CONDITIONS REMAIN DANGEROUS
Yesterday's snow and wind along with more snow today mean that HUMAN TRIGGERED AVALANCHES ARE LIKELY. Above and near treeline, the avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE in terrain facing west, north, east, and southeast. Avalanches can be 2-4 feet deep and hundreds of feet wide. Human triggered avalanches are LIKELY on these slopes. Slopes with recently wind drifted snow will be especially sensitive.
At lower elevations below treeline and all south and southwest facing slopes, the danger is MODERATE.
Riding conditions have really improved and there's lots of great powder. Fortunately there is plenty of terrain in the Uintas less than 30 degrees in steepness where avalanches won't happen. Make sure to also avoid being under steep slopes in avalanche runout zones.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Avalanche Watch
DANGEROUS AVALANCHE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE WEEKEND.
THE WATCH IS FOR ELEVATED AVALANCHE DANGER IN THE BACKCOUNTRY BEGINNING SATURDAY MORNING AND LASTING THROUGH THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND
FOR ALL THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTHERN UTAH INCLUDING THE WASATCH RANGE.....UINTA MOUNTAINS...MANTI SKYLINE.
AN AVALANCHE WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE LOGAN AREA MOUNTAINS AND THE BEAR RIVER RANGE.
HEAVY SNOW WILL CREATE WIDESPREAD AREAS OF UNSTABLE SNOW. BOTH HUMAN TRIGGERED AND NATURAL AVALANCHES WILL BECOME LIKELY. STAY OFF OF AND OUT FROM UNDER SLOPES STEEPER THAN 30 DEGREES.
Special Announcements
The final report about an avalanche that killed four people last Saturday in upper Mill Creek Canyon in the central Wasatch Mountains is available HERE. Our deepest condolences go out to the friends and families involved.
Weather and Snow
Nowcast-
Since yesterday 2-6 inches of snow has fallen. Strong westerly winds blew yesterday 15-25 mph gusting to 40 mph at all elevations. This morning, westerly winds have eased and are averaging 10-15 mph at upper elevations gusting to 20 mph while at lower elevations they are averaging 5 mph. Temperatures range from the mid teens F up high to mid 20s F at trailheads.
Forecast-
After a break in snowfall last night, more will come today through tomorrow morning when another 5-10 inches of snow should accumulate. Winds today should shift to the SW by midday and ease a bit more and then shift to the NW tonight and bring cold air over the area. Temperatures today will rise by only a few degrees.
Futurecast-
Snowfall should taper off Sunday morning and the sun may even appear, but it will be very cold. Another storm should arrive Monday bringing heavy snowfall and very strong winds Monday night.
Looking for real-time temps, snow, or wind?
Click here and then on the "western Uinta" tab for western Uinta specific, weather station network.
Recent Avalanches
Yesterday near Moffit Peak and Gold Hill, my partner and I triggered many collapses and shooting cracks which are the same as triggering an avalanche except that we weren't on slopes steep enough to slide. The photo below shows cracks in the snow in front of my sled. Look for these clues which are sometimes subtle and not easy to see.
Ski guides above Smith and Moorehouse Reservoir found similar conditions and loud thunderous collapses yesterday as well.
Many large avalanches were triggered across the range this weekend including a near miss at Moffit Peak with an amazing viddy HERE.
Recent avalanche activity is found HERE.
More obs and trip reports found here.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Throughout the Uinta mountains there are persistent weak layers of sugary, faceted snow in the bottom of the snowpack (see photo below). There is a cohesive slab of varying hardness and thickness on top of these persistent weak layers. In upper elevation, wind loaded terrain, the slab is very hard and connected across large areas. On slopes sheltered from the wind, the slab is softer but still cohesive enough to produce a slide.
This avalanche problem is mainly on west, north, east, and southeast facing slopes, but I don't trust any slope right now. If it looks ridable, it likely has weak snow near the ground.
Most slopes are teetering near their breaking point waiting for a person (aka a trigger) to tip the scales and cause an avalanche. You can trigger an avalanche by simply riding under a steep slope.
The photo below clearly shows the weak faceted snow near the ground. There is also a weak layer of facets in the middle of the snowpack on which avalanches can also fracture.
Avalanche Problem #2
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Winds yesterday blew from both the WSW and WNW and they were a bit stronger on the northern part of the range (see video below). Winds do 2 things (1) they form slabs of wind drifted snow which can cause an avalanche by themselves, and (2) they add stress to buried persistent weak layers which will produce much larger avalanches.
Check out the video below for what winds were doing on top of Double Hill yesterday. It's always a good place to find strong winds.
Additional Information
Last week, Andy, Joey, and I set up the avalanche beacon training park at the Nobletts trailhead. There is also one at the Bear River Trailhead that Ted Scroggin set up. These beacon parks have pre-buried beacons that you can turn on/off with a control panel. It only takes a few minutes to refresh your beacon searching skills at one of these places.
Craig will update this forecast by 7:00 AM tomorrow, Sunday, February 14th.
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
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 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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