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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon on
Friday morning, March 28, 2025
Winds usher in cooler temperatures, pumping the brakes on today's wet avalanche activity-
The avalanche danger is generally LOW and human triggered avalanches are UNLIKELY.
Remember... LOW danger doesn't mean Blindly Go danger, so we gather snowpack intel throughout the day to help make solid decisions, especially if our travels take us into sustained, steep, terrain.
And remember... while making up a very small portion of our rideable terrain, persistent weak layers on the north half of the compass at mid and upper-elevations are still guilty until proven otherwise. Steep, rocky terrain with a weak, shallow snowpack fits the bill for suspect terrain, where once triggered, avalanches can break to sugary weak layers deeper in the pack.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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The final report for the Hoyt Peak avalanche accident on March 7th has been published and is available, here.
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Weather and Snow
Nowcast- A weak cool front slides through the Uinta zone at o'dark thirty, delivering mostly cloudy skies and a very thin coat of white paint... just a trace or two. Most automated weather stations report temperatures in the mid 40's while a few cooler ridgetop sites hover right around freezing. And then there's the southwest winds blowing 40-60 mph near the high peaks... obnoxious I tell ya!
Forecast- Look for mostly cloudy skies and a slight chance of a flurry or two. Cooler air filters into the region, delivering high temperatures in the upper 30's while west and southwest winds blow in the 30's near the high ridges, decreasing around sunrise.
Futurecast- A cold front pushes into northern Utah late Saturday, ushering in a period of moderately heavy snowfall. I'm cautiously betting on 6"-8" of medium density snow just in time for Sunday's morning service. A break in the action is slated to round out the weekend with more unsettled weather beginning late Monday.
Travel & Riding Conditions- Yesterday's limited corn harvest was soft and creamy right around 10:00 and wrapped up right at the suppertime bell. Today's snow surface is gonna be meh... and a bit more rugged. Might be a day to get chores done and wait for a reset.
It's mud season and trailheads are takin' a hit with the recent run of warm temps.
But, Ted found good coverage and supportable snow in the Moffit Basin and say's, "Overall, the conditions were holding up fairly well despite the warm weather this week."
Recent Avalanches
Trevor spotted this couple day old, natural cornice release in Upper Weber Canyon. After trundling onto the slope below, this piece of corni released a small, damp avalanche.
Check out all the action, info and intel for the Uinta range and beyond, here.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Wet Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Ted was on the east side of the range on Monday and noted a large cornice failing naturally during the heat of the day, stacking up a sizable amount of day ruining debris.
I suspect most of our terrain is solid and locked up. But if the sun comes out and starts baking the snow, be flexible with your game plan and move to another activity before the snow gets too manky. In addition, think about your end of the day exit strategy and avoid terrain traps like gullies and road cuts, where even a small slide can pile up unusually impressive piles of tree snapping debris.
Avalanche Problem #2
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
The jury is still out, but I think we may be getting closer to done with our persistent weak layers. However, shallow snowpack zones like terrain that has avalanched multiple times this season is guilty until proven otherwise. Remember... our PWL problem child is still trying to figure itself out and isn't entirely comfortable in its own skin, so here's some considerations-
  • We are not going to see obvious red flags like cracking, or hear big, booming collapses. So... with the high price of eggs, let's not put all of them in one observation basket :)
  • If you pull out your probe and find a shallower area of the snowpack (100-175cms) dig around or trench down, you'll see this weak snow.
  • This problem exists in a small and isolated portion of our terrain and is easily avoidable.
  • Big triggers can produce big avalanches -- Watch out for cornice failure or rapid change... anything that could help pry out one of these nasty slides.
Additional Information
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 Friday, March 28th at 03:00 AM and expires 24 hours after it was issued.
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