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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon on
Sunday morning, February 9, 2020
In the wind zone at and above treeline, the avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE. Human triggered avalanches are LIKELY on steep, wind drifted slopes, especially those with an easterly component to its aspect. While more the exception than the rule, avalanches breaking into deeper, buried weak layers remains a distinct possibility. Usual suspects include- steep, rocky, upper elevation terrain, especially slopes exhibiting a thin, shallow snowpack. Remember- any slide that breaks to old snow, instantly throws a curve ball at your day.
While not nearly as widespread, mid elevation terrain got in on the act too and a MODERATE avalanche danger exists on steep wind drifted slopes where human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE.
Lose the wind and you lose the problem Wind sheltered mid and low elevation terrain offers generally LOW avalanche danger.
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Special Announcements
Our sled 101 class practices strategic shoveling in the image above.
Wow.... yesterday we were surrounded by a great crew of riders who took time out of their busy lives and attended our Sled Specific Moto Avy 101 class. Cheers to this group for taking the initiative to learn a solid avy awareness skill set that allows them to enjoy the greatest snow on earth... safely! Also, a big shout out to The Edge Powersports and Park City Powder Cats for hosting and to Tyler St. Jeor and his most excellent team from Backcountry Institute for their to notch instruction. Y'all rock and I deeply appreciate all your efforts to support this life saving program.
Weather and Snow
Currently-
A weak cold front slid through the region late yesterday, delivering a couple flakes and allowing cold air to filter into the range. Currently, under partly cloudy skies, temperatures are in the single digits and northeast winds blow 10-20 mph along the high ridges. Riding and turning conditions are excellent right now with wind sheltered, mid elevation terrain offering cold, creamy, carvy snow.... along with a little alliteration :)
Uinta weather network info is found here. Simply click on the Western Uinta tab.
For today-
A northeast flow prevails producing partly cloudy skies and colder temperatures with high reaching into the low 20's. Northeast winds blow 10-20 mph along the high peaks.
Futurecast-
Cold temperatures and little prospect of measurable snow is the rule heading into the work week.
Recent Avalanches
With a little coercing the avalanche in the image above initially started as a well connected, fresh wind drift, but then quickly broke into weak snow near the ground. This is a repeater, having already slid several times this year. Triggered on an east facing slope in the wind zone, this slide averaged 2' deep, was 250' wide, and ran 800' vertically... hard to trigger, but could easily ruin your day.
And above Rhoads Lake in the Smith-Moorehouse zone, Chad Brackelsberg watched a sledder trigger a significant piece of snow and noted.... "We were on a peak about 1.5 miles north and saw high mark tracks on the slope with fairly large avalanche at the tracks. The crown was clearly visible from the distance and it was at least 100' wide and ran into the trees below." Details are found here.
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
Follow the wind and you'll find the hazard.
Winds finally relaxed early this morning and that's good news. However, several days of nuking winds, coupled with dense, heavy storm snow created upside-down layering. Yesterday, during our class, we found stronger snow resting on top of lighter density snow that fell early last week. And while I think recent wind drifts are becoming glued in place and less reactive over time, we also need to remember that as the snow gains strength it will allow us to get onto steeper, more avalanche prone terrain. So let's exercise a little patience, let the snow heal for another minute or two and apply the best rule of thumb to avoid a close call and simply avoid steep wind drifted slopes, especially if they look fat and rounded or feel hollow and sound like a drum. Done and done.
Avalanche Problem #2
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Right now, most terrain offers a deep snowpack and it's happy in its own skin. However, additional dense, heavy snow and strong winds continue testing the strength of any weak layers in our pack.
Yes, the big storm is over and now I need to think about suspect terrain I want to avoid, and that includes steep, rocky terrain and slopes that avalanched near the ground earlier in the season. Recent avalanche activity revolving around shallow snowpack structure confirms this hypothesis.
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 Feb. 10th.
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.