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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon for
Wednesday, February 5, 2014

We have two distinctly different avalanche dragons today resulting in very different outcomes-

Manageable- fresh wind drifts in the wind zone where a MODERATE avalanche danger exists and human triggered avalanches are possible on steep, wind drifted slopes..

Not manageable- any avalanche that breaks to old snow near the ground. A scary MODERATE avalanche danger is found on steep, rocky, upper elevation slopes, particularly those facing the north half of the compass. Once triggered, avalanches have the possibility to break deep and wide, creating a dangerous avalanche.

Wind sheltered mid and low elevation terrain offers a LOW avalanche danger.

Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Special Announcements

A huge shout out to Jacob Livingston for all his hard work completing his Eagle Scout project and helping the sled community with funds he raised to install a beacon checker at the Co-op Trailhead... good on ya man!

Join the Utah Avalanche Center and Boondockers on Feb 20 and 22 for another avalanche & riding skills class. Registration is open now. Note that we changed the date from the original class posting.

Weather and Snow

A moist westerly flow delivered 1"-3" of uber light density snow across the range in the past 24 hours and overall, total snow depths around the region are starting to make a respectable appearance. Skies are mostly cloudy and man, it's cold out there this morning. Temperatures are near zero at most locations and right around -10 along the high ridges. West and northwest winds are blowing 15-25 mph producing wind chill values close to -30 degrees.

Click here for current winds, temperatures, and snowfall throughout the range.

Click here for trip reports and avalanche observations.

Recent Avalanches

Shallow soft slabs on upper elevation leeward slopes and sluffing in steep, wind sheltered terrain. No news of the weird.

Recent avalanche activity is found here.

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Avalanche Problem #1
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

In general, the snowpack seems pretty well behaved and the recent addition of very light density snow isn't going to change the overall danger dramatically. Fresh drifting is the most obvious avalanche issue today, and I think the shallow slabs will predictably break at or below your skis, board, or sled. However, the Uinta's are a big place and as always look for and avoid any fat, rounded, pillow of snow.

Avalanche Problem #2
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

It's been several weeks since we've seen or heard about any avalanches breaking into deeply buried weak layers near the ground. That's good news and I think we're probably on our way to turning the corner towards a stronger pack where the snow is deep and strong. However, steep, upper elevation, rocky slopes, especially those facing the north half of the compass remain suspect and need to be approached with caution. Gather as much information as possible by tweaking small test slopes with similar characteristics before center-punching big terrain. Above all- think about the consequences of triggering a slide that breaks to the ground.

Additional Information

Light snow showers linger over the region with a weak disturbance grazing northern Utah late tonight. In the meantime, westerly winds blow in the teens and mid 20's. Temperatures only warm into the single digits and low teens with overnight lows crashing into negative territory. No huge storms on tap, but unsettled conditions persist through 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], or email by clicking HERE

This is a great time of year to schedule a free avalanche awareness presentation for your group or club. You can contact me at 801-231-2170 or email [email protected]

Donate to your favorite non-profit –The Utah Avalanche Center. The UAC depends on contributions from users like you to support our work.

Benefit the Utah Avalanche Center when you buy or sell on ebay - set the Utah Avalanche Center as a favorite non-profit in your ebay account here and click on ebay gives when you buy or sell. You can choose to have your seller fees donated to the UAC, which doesn't cost you a penny.

Utah Avalanche Center mobile app - Get your advisory on your iPhone along with great navigation and rescue tools.

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.

I will update this advisory by 7:00 AM on Wednesday Feb. 5, 2014

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