Avalanche Warning
An Avalanche Warning has been issued for the mountains of Northern Utah and Southeast Idaho including the Wasatch Range, Bear River Range, and Uinta Mountains.
The avalanche danger is HIGH today.
Recent heavy accumulations of snow and drifting have created widespread areas of unstable snow. Long running natural and human triggered avalanches are likely. People should avoid being in backcountry avalanche terrain, (off of and out from under slopes steeper than 30°), and stay clear of avalanche runouts.
Nowcast- It's stomping! Our much anticipated storm was a little tardy to the powder party, but finally arrived fashionably late at o'dark thirty, delivering 12" of snow with just .60" H2O. Storm totals are a bit uneven... the North Slope through Mirror Lake stacked up 14"-18" of snow with just over an inch of water, while the south half of the range from Wolf Creek to Daniels registers 10" of snow with .50 H2O. In either case, it's uber-fluff, downright blower, and it's cold across the board with temperatures in the teens at the trailheads and single digits along the ridges. North and northeast winds blow in the 20's and 30's near the high peaks, creating a toe numbing windchill to -19 degrees. Riding and turning conditions are much improved, though the low density snow does little to cushion old, hard crusts and wind funk underfoot. Your best bet for a smooth ride are low angle, mid elevation, shady slopes.
Forecast- Scattered snow showers pile up a couple additional inches of snow, but I think the storm is winding down as the flow turns northeasterly. Temperatures don't vary much from where we're at this morning and are slow to crawl into the teens and low 20's. Northerly winds are gonna be a nuisance, blowing in the 30's near the high peaks.
Futurecast- A few lingering snow showers bring us to hump day and then our weather begins shifting towards a warmer, dryer pattern beginning mid week.
Big snow and big water deliver big views across the range, where I was honored to spread my dear friend, Nick Snyder's ashes on Saturday. A long time supporter of the UAC... Nicks loving heart, peaceful energy, and very generous spirit will oversee our travels on the eastern front.
Trip Reports-
Detailed trip reports and recent obs are found
HERE.
Not particularly shocking, long running sluffs and shallow soft slabs were Monday's avalanche flavor of the day. Today's slide have more volume and will pack a punch.
In addition, plenty of avy activity to peruse if ya wanna geek out. Click
HERE to track this years slide activity throughout the range.
