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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon for
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Expect two very different avalanche problems today-
WET SNOW AVALANCHES-
The danger for WET SNOW avalanches starts out as LOW this morning, but may rise to MODERATE as the day heats up. Human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE on all steep, sun baked slopes.
DRY SNOW AVALANCHES-
In the wind zone at and above treeline you'll find MODERATE avalanche danger. Human triggered DRY SNOW avalanches are POSSIBLE on steep leeward slopes facing the north half of the compass. Limited to a small percentage of the terrain available to ride in today, if you're getting into steep, technical terrain facing the north half of the compass remember, there may be a rogue drift or two large enough to boss you around.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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We need your help. In an effort to increase awareness and prevent future fatalities we need to reach more people with our daily avalanche forecasts, expand the Know Before You Go program, and increase the number of on-snow avalanche courses. Please consider a donation to the UAC to help us raise $25,000 by April 8. Show your support of the UAC by making a donation HERE
Weather and Snow
Skies are clear this morning, but temperatures remained relatively warm, only dipping into the upper 20's and low 30's overnight. Southerly winds blow in the mid 30's along the high peaks. Recent warm temperatures, high sun angle, and wind were uninvited guests, crashing our powder party. Cold, dry snow is a limited commodity, as all but the highest north facing terrain will be crusty first thing out of the gates.
Above is hourly data from Trial Lake (9,945') and Windy Peak (10,662'). To view more regional weather stations click here.
Surreal... the Uinta's are stunningly white. On a go-anywhere-base and a phat Uinta snowpack, overall coverage is about as good as it gets on the eastern front.
Recent Avalanches
No significant avalanche activity on Tuesday.... below are a few slides we observed Monday-
Downtown Chris Brown found a few stiff wind slabs reactive to his additional weight, breaking about 2' deep and running a surprisingly long distance on the steep, north facing terrain around Reid's Peak Monday.
On the other side of the compass, I spotted this fresh cornice triggered wind slab early Monday morning on the steep south facing terrain above the Mirror Lake Highway on Bald Mountain.
Recent trip reports and avy activity found HERE.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Wet Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Today's wet avalanche activity might be tempered somewhat and largely depends on cloud cover and wind keeping the snow surface cool. But as you know, wet avalanche activity is a timing thing and you'll want to stay ahead of the curve and not overstay your welcome. As the day heats up, simply get off of and stay out from under steep sun-exposed slopes. In addition, think about your exit strategy for the end of the end day or if it heats up quicker than you expect, and plan to avoid terrain traps like gullies and road cuts where wet, cement-like avalanche debris can stack up very deeply.
Avalanche Problem #2
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Limited to upper elevation north facing terrain in the alpine, I bet there's still a wind drift or two lurking on steep, leeward slopes in the wind zone, that'll react to our additional weight. Today you'll want to continue looking for and avoiding any fat, rounded piece of snow, especially if it sounds hollow like a drum.
And finally don't forget-
Cornices are ginormous and may break back further than you might expect. You definitely wanna give these large, unpredictable pieces of snow a wide berth and not ruin someones day below by inadvertently knocking a boxcar size piece of snow down on them.
Additional Information
We begin the day with sunny skies and southerly winds blowing in the 30's and 40's along the high peaks. Temperatures rise into the 40's, clouds increase as the day wares on, and a storm waiting in the wings, begins sliding into our region early Thursday. While a bit disorganized, we should still see a decent reset with 3"-6" of snow stacking up by late Friday. High pressure builds for late in the weekend.
General Announcements
The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but will be updated by 7:00 AM Thursday March 28th, 2019.
If you're getting out and about, please let me know what you're seeing especially if you see or trigger and avalanche. I can be reached at [email protected] or 801-231-2170
It's also a good time to set up one of our very popular avalanche awareness classes. Reach out to me and I'll make it happen.
This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done. This advisory is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.
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