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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon on
Saturday morning, February 8, 2025
Heads up... today's sunny skies and fresh pow is gonna red-line our stoke-meter, but don't let that cloud our judgment. Nearly two feet of fresh snow, raging wind, and a solid dose of water weight elevates the avy hazard from a little sketchy to game on!
Recent strong winds and heavy snow, team up to deliver a one-two punch along with HIGH avalanche danger on wind drifted slopes, especially those in the wind zone above treeline. Human triggered avalanches are VERY LIKELY, particularly on steep slopes facing the north half of the compass. Remember... any slide triggered today has the potential to break deeper and wider than we might expect, delivering a massive curve ball that'll instantly ruin my day.
Mid elevation terrain remains guilty until proven otherwise and CONSIDERABLE hazard in found in steep terrain with recent deposits of wind drifted snow. Human triggered avalanches packing a significant punch are LIKELY
Lower elevation shady slopes and mid elevation solars are now a player where you'll find MODERATE avalanche danger. Perhaps a little more predictable, none-the-less, human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE on steep wind drifted slopes.
There's a lot going on today, but we don't have to hide under the beds. In fact, you'll find a day of epic riding and straight-forward avy hazard in big open meadows with no steep slopes above or adjacent to where you're riding.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Special Announcements
Wondering who hijacked our winter, where weak layers in the snowpack are trending, or perhaps you're just PWL curious? Well then, please join UAC Forecaster Craig Gordon (that's me :) at Ecker Hill Middle School, Tuesday February 11th from 6:30-8:00 PM for a State of the Snowpack presentation hosted by Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association (PCPSPA). Guaranteed to be informative, educational, and perhaps even entertaining! Please reserve a spot HERE!
Weather and Snow
Nowcast- What a show! Ullr opens the gig with an acoustic set, but then Jumpin' Jack Flash walks on stage, plugs into a stack of Marshall amps, and lights up the eastern front like a Cross-fire Hurricane, delivering a Trail Lake-centric storm piling up 18" of snow and 1.7" H20. Neighboring North Slope sites like Chalk Creek fall in line with similar totals while the south half of the range near Mill Hollow clocks in closer to 12" and just over an inch of SWE. Skies clear early this morning and temperatures crater into the low single digits. Riding and turning conditions went from zero to hero overnight and it'll be an over-the-hood, over-the-head kinda day.
Forecast- A few scattered snow showers linger over the area, but I bet we see a nice dose of Vitamin D. Northwest winds blow in the low 20's and remain relatively well-behaved throughout the day. High temperatures climb into the mid 20's with overnight lows dipping into the single digits.
Futurecast- Generally, cool, dry weather for a good portion of the week with a glimmer of hope as computer models support a substantial winter storm wrapping up the work week.
Gnar to the bar... thanks Weston D for sharing a glimpse into your Friday :)
Recent Avalanches
I'm still not trusting our current snowpack structure, especially in steep rocky terrain or slopes that avalanched earlier this season like the Dec. 29th (before) and Feb. 6th (after) images above.
Look for this years slides cataloged here. As always, gain more intel and info via obs, avalanches and trip reports from across the range and beyond, here!
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Avalanche Problem #1
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
A 24 hour data dump from Windy Peak (10, 662') clearly illustrates a pretty wild run in the wind zone.
Yesterday's storm snow, coupled with nuking wind, conspires to whip up yet another batch of new wind drifts that'll be reactive to our additional weight. And remember... fresh snow camouflages a myriad of older, wind hardened drifts formed earlier in the week. I suspect today's newly formed drifts will be sensitive to our our additional weight, easily triggered, giving us instant feedback. My plan is to lose the wind and lose the problem and get an epic day of riding by avoiding fat rounded pillows of snow, especially if they sound hollow like a drum.
Avalanche Problem #2
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
A one-two punch of strong winds and nearly two feet of snow tips the scales on steep, shady slopes, especially those with a shallow snowpack... think mid and low elevation, polar terrain and slopes that avalanched earlier this season. In fact, recent avalanches suggest two layers of faceted snow are beginning the reveal their hand... one developed during the mid January cold, dry spell and the other during the mid December drought. In either case, while we might've forgotten about 'em, the snowpack has an amazing memory. Any slide triggered today has the potential to break deeper and wider than we might expect, delivering a body-bruising slide we might not walk away from.
Avalanche Problem #3
New Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
From mountain valleys to the ridges, tip to tail, yesterday's storm snow is gonna be reactive to our additional weight. I suspect this is a short-lived avalanche problem, but you'll definitely wanna be aware of steep slopes above and adjacent to where you're traveling, even if that just means visiting our mountain cabin and taking the dog for a walk, or going for a winter run on a summer trail. Plan to avoid creek bottoms and road cuts which are natural terrain traps that pile up avalanche debris very deeply.
Additional Information
Sad news to report from the Monte Cristo area where a snowmobiler was caught, carried, and killed in an avalanche Monday. An accident summary is found here. Please know our hearts hurt and our collective energy goes out to friends, family, and everyone involved in this very tragic accident.
General Announcements
We are always looking for snow and avalanche observations or just general riding conditions. In the meantime reach out to us with questions, concerns, or if you see anything in your travels! Contact us directly through the info below:
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 always may occur. This forecast was issued on Saturday, February 8th at 04:00AM and expires 24 hours after it was issued.
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