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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon on
Wednesday morning, February 26, 2020
In a virtual sea of LOW avalanche hazard you'll find pockets of MODERATE avalanche danger in the wind zone, at and above treeline, on steep, wind drifted slopes. Human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE, especially on slopes with an easterly component to its aspect. While more the exception than the rule, avalanches breaking into deeper, buried weak layers are still possible. Usual suspect terrain includes- steep, rocky, upper elevation slopes, particularly those exhibiting a thin, shallow snowpack and this includes repeater avalanche paths. Remember- any slide that breaks to old snow, instantly throws a curve ball at your day.
Wind sheltered mid and low elevation terrain offers generally LOW avalanche danger.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Weather and Snow
Currently-
As high pressure builds, skies are clear and temperatures register in the single digits. Northwesterly winds increased right around midnight and have blown in the 20's and 30's since. Recent winds blasted our high alpine terrain, but on a go-anywhere base, if you seek out mid elevation, wind sheltered slopes, you'll be rewarded with shallow, creamy snow.
Uinta weather network info is found here. Simply click on the Western Uinta tab.
For today-
As a storm bumps to the north of the region, we may see a few high clouds drift through the area along with a bump in winds. High temperatures climb into the mid 30's and westerly winds gust into the 30's and 40's along the high peaks.
Futurecast-
High pressure homesteads over the region for the remainder of the week delivering warming temperatures and decreasing winds.
Recent Avalanches
Steep slopes with an easterly component that have avalanched multiple times throughout the season (repeater paths) continue to come alive with the additional weight of a rider. Not particularly widespread, but definitely something that can boss you around once triggered.
To view additional trip reports and recent avalanche activity, simply click here.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
While I think the vast majority of recently formed drifts settled out, I always need to remind myself the Uinta's are a huge range and I bet there's a lingering wind slab or two that'll react to our additional weight. Most prevalent on the leeward side of upper elevation ridges, be on the lookout for older drifts cross-loaded around terrain features like chutes and gullies. Climbing is easy right now and if you're tagging steep, technical terrain, remember that even a small slide could knock you off your feet and boss you around. So, the ticket to riding safely today is simply look for and avoid any fat, rounded piece of snow, especially if it sounds hollow like a drum.
Avalanche Problem #2
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
While more the exception than the rule, repeater slide paths and terrain that has remained shallow all season like steep, rocky slopes in the image above, continue producing pockety avalanches with a little nudging.
It's been several days since I've heard of any avalanches breaking to older layers in the snowpack and that's good news. However, snow is a curious medium and all we need to do is find one inconsistency or a shallow zone, maybe around a rock or bush, collapse the pack, and now we've got a bigger slide than we might've bargained for. So my safe travel strategy is to think about suspect terrain I want to continue avoiding and that includes steep, rocky terrain and slopes that avalanched near the ground earlier in the season.
Additional Information
Andy found good riding in shallow, creamy pow Sunday on the south half of the range. A most excellent trip report is found here.
It's been a great winter and the coverage even at lower elevations is quite good. High fives to the crew laying down the old school eights near the mouth of Weber Canyon.
General Announcements
The information in this forecast expires in 24 hours, but will be updated by 7:00 AM Thursday Feb. 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
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.