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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon on
Monday morning, March 13, 2017

This morning the avalanche danger is generally LOW. As the sun softens the snow surface, the danger for wet slides and sluffs increases to MODERATE and human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE, particularly on steep slopes facing the south half of the compass.

Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Weather and Snow

Under a big, bright, beautiful moon, skies are clear, temperatures in the 20's, and northwest winds are blowing 20-30 mph along the high ridges. The corn harvest is in full swing on low and mid elevation south facing terrain. On the north half of the compass, you'll still find patches of cold creamy snow on wind sheltered, upper elevation slopes.


Above... 24 hour data from Windy Peak (10,600') and the Hayden Fork snotel site (9,200') reflecting a solid refreeze and a breezy morning on the ridges.

Real time wind, snow, and temperatures for the Uinta's are found here


Not too far out of the gates you go from mud season to miles of fresh 'roy.

Snowpack observations and trip reports are found here.

Huge thanks to BCA and all of you for helping to support the Are You Beeping, beacon checking program. Located near the Noblett's Trailhead, this is just one of the checkpoints you'll see at major trailheads throughout the range.

Recent Avalanches

No new avalanche activity to report from yesterday.

A full list of Uinta avalanche activity is found here.

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Avalanche Problem #1
Wet Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

Clear skies, a deep refreeze, and stiff northerly winds will keep the snow surface cold whilst providing solid riding and turning conditions for most of the day. If you're looking for soft snow first thing, start off on east or southeast facing terrain and then just follow the sun around, ending on west facing slopes at the end of the day. Remember- this is the time of year when you wanna think about your late in the day, exit strategy. As the snow turns damp and manky, you'll need to get off of and out from under steep, sunny slopes and avoid terrain traps like gullies and road cuts where tree snapping, cement-like debris can stack up very deeply.

Avalanche Problem #2
Cornice
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description


Corni... they come in all shapes and sizes and some are larger than others. In either case, these unpredictable pieces of snow are breaking further back than you might expect and you definitely don't want to be on the receiving end of one of these boxcar-like monsters.

Additional Information

A ridge of high pressure gives us stunning spring weather with sunny skies and temperatures rising into the 40's. It'll be breezy along the ridges with northwest winds humming along at 20-30 mph. Skies remain clear overnight and low temperatures dip into the upper 20's. Slightly warmer for Tuesday and Wednesday with a weak system sliding through the region Thursday, cooling temperatures somewhat and giving us a slight chance of snow. No change in the warm and dry pattern until early next week.

General Announcements

Remember your information can save lives. If you see anything we should know about, please participate in the creation of our own community avalanche advisory by submitting snow and avalanche conditions. You can call me directly at 801-231-2170, email [email protected]

The information in this advisory is from the US Forest Service which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.

The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but will be updated by 7:00 AM on Tuesday March 14th.

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