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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon on
Wednesday morning, March 12, 2025
With a solid shot of snow, water, and wind headed our way, expect changing avy danger in the next 36 to 48 hours-
For today, MODERATE avalanche danger is found on upper elevation slopes facing the north half of the compass. Becoming pockety and more difficult to initiate, human-triggered persistent slab avalanches breaking deeper and wider than we might expect are still POSSIBLE. Steep, rocky terrain with a shallow snowpack fits the bill for slopes to avoid. While the snow feels solid under our feet, remember... unusually weak snow still lingers in the snowpack on upper elevation, shady slopes.
In addition, steep, upper elevation slopes, especially those in the windzone, offer MODERATE avalanche danger where it's POSSIBLE to trigger fresh wind-drifts on the leeward side of ridges, particularly those with an easterly component to their aspect.
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Special Announcements
  • We come to you with heavy hearts and great sadness this morning to confirm an avalanche accident on Friday, March 7th near Hoyt Peak, involving 51 year old Micheal Janulaitis from Marion, Utah. Micheal used a snowbike to access the terrain, but was caught, carried, and killed in an avalanche while skiing a steep, northeast facing run on Hoyt Peak.
    Huge thanks to the Department of Public Safety, Park City Mountain Resort and Canyons Village Snow Safety and Ski Patrol teams, along with Wasatch Backcountry Rescue for the hard work recovering Micheal and returning him to his family. Micheal was a friend of Utah Avy and we feel privileged for the time we got to spend together. This is a tremendous loss for our backcountry family and we will miss him deeply. We are compiling accident details and a preliminary report is available here.
  • Did you know.... March kicks off our Spring Campaign? Well, if everyone in Utah’s backcountry community donates the cost of something they regularly enjoy on an adventure—like a dawn patrol burrito, we could fund not just one but two forecasters for the entire season! More information here.
Weather and Snow
Nowcast- Dang... that nearly full Worm Moon is casting some beautiful light on our mountains this morning, inviting every Rockin' Robin out there to enjoy a spectacular spring day and fill up on their fair share of worms before the next storm cycle, slated to make it's move later today, settles in overhead. In the meantime, under mostly clear skies, temperatures hover in the mid 20's and southwest winds blow 20-30 mph along the ridges.
Forecast- Expect clear skies for the most of the day with temperatures climbing into the low 40's. Southwest winds blow in the buzz-killing category, registering in the 30's and 40's near the high peaks. Clouds drift into the area around dinnertime and we might see a stray snow flurry or two, while overnight lows dip into the upper 20's
Futurecast- Snow begins Thursday morning, with a solid shot of moisture expected Thursday afternoon and evening. I wouldn't be too surprised to hear some thunder snow, as a robust cold front slides through northern Utah, delivering a rapid drop in snow levels. Snow continues into Friday morning before tapering off by about suppertime. I'm cautiously optimistic for a foot of snow and just over an inch of H2O to wrap up the workweek. A second storm quickly follows for Saturday into early Sunday... not a big storm, more like a free refill :)
Travel & Riding Conditions-
Yup, trailheads are figuring themselves out, but don't get too discouraged by mud season, cold snow is still found on upper elevation polars... getting there however... meh. Flip to the other half of the compass and gravitate to solars where a maturing crop o' corn awaits late morning harvesting on mid elevation sunny slopes.
Recent Avalanches
The last significant Uinta avalanche reported was on Friday, March 7th when a solo skier triggered a fatal, medium-sized persistent slab avalanche and took a ride down a nasty, consequence filled avalanche path. This avalanche was triggered in a thin, steep portion of the slope and failed up to 4' deep on a thin layer of faceted snow. Yes, the likelihood, or chances of triggering an avalanche with these characteristics are diminishing, but the consequences are devastating.
Avy-savvy forecaster, educator, and guide, but most important... amazing person, Joey Manship reports some older, yet noteworthy news... breaking on weak, sugary snow in a steep, rocky zone near Smith-Moorehouse, this piece of snow avalanched naturally during last weeks storm cycle.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Above, a northeast facing slope around Anchor Lake hovering right around 11,000', is an example of a repeater slope... meaning it's avalanched several times and left behind a shallow, weak snowpack. These areas, steep and rocky, are where you are most likely to trigger today's persistent slab avalanche.
It feels like spring, but in some terrain on the eastern front, the snowpack has remained thin and sugary in places... think, slopes that have avalanched several times this year or what we call repeaters. Here's the problem... recent storm snow blanketed the range with a thick coat of white paint and everything looks uniform and feels super solid under our skis, board, or sled. However, if you trench down, you'll still find weak, sugary facets beneath the surface, now buried between 1' and 3’ deep and that's the devious culprit behind recent persistent slab avalanches.
As I begin to set my sights on bigger terrain this spring I'm keepin' it tight and simply avoiding shallower areas of the snowpack like steep, rocky terrain where I'm more likely to trigger an avalanche that breaks into an old persistent weak layer. Shallow areas are easily identified by just whipping out my probe and getting a feel for snow depths, helping me steer away from shallow, suspect areas.
In addition, when I step out, I make sure the slopes I'm choosing don't have any overhead hazard, and are void of consequential terrain features like trees, cliff bands, or gullies in the runout below. And finally, I'm exposing only one person at a time to potential hazard.
Our main man with the Uinta plan, Ted Scroggin, was near Gold Hill yesterday and noted... " I did get an ECTP27 that looked liked the column failed on some near surface faceted snow during a break in the storms."
Avalanche Problem #2
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Yesterday I found a few natural wind drifts peeling off the leeward side of steep, wind loaded slopes in Upper Chalk Creek.
Most solar slopes are baked and there's little snow available to blow around. However, the Uinta's are a ginormous range and there are plenty of terrain features that accelerate wind, forming drifts on the leeward side of ridges, along with terrain features like chutes and gullies. You know the program... keep an eye out for and avoid rounded pillows and stiff, textured drifts that sound hollow like a drum.
It’s no joke that 40% of us are killed by trauma in avalanche accidents, meaning we’re dead from slamming into a stump, rock, or tree on the ride down, before we’re even buried by the avalanche we just triggered. As we step out, whether it is into the high-country, or just moving to a bigger slope, keep in mind the severity of the terrain you're entering and consider the consequences of triggering even a small avalanche that unexpectedly knocks me off our feet.
Additional Information
From trailhead signs to transceiver training parks, we are always trying to help keep our community styled at the Uinta trailheads. It is no walk on the skin track to keep this signage and equipment up and running all season long. If you see one of our signs in rough shape, or our transceiver parks buried, reach out to us and let us know or feel free to dust off a solar panel and show it a little love. It is a community effort and we couldnt do it without you!
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 variations always occur. This forecast was issued on Wednesday, March 12th at 04:00 AM and expires 24 hours after it was issued.