Since the beginning of the New Year we've nearly doubled our snowpack and added over 7" of water weight... unprecedented for our hood. Until this week, avalanche conditions have been pretty straight-forward, but I think Tuesday nights storm sent the region into a tailspin and the western Uinta's experienced a remarkable, tree snapping, natural avalanche cycle. The carnage is jaw dropping with plenty of slopes reaching their historic potential. The good news is, many slopes avalanched naturally and in general, the snowpack is adjusting to the big storm and getting comfortable in its own skin. However, I bet there's a couple surprises still lurking out there. Complicating the pattern is you can ride lots of steep slopes without incident and think you're good to go because the snow feels strong and bomber under our skis, board, or sled. So here's the problem... we've got dense, cohesive snow resting on a thin layer layer of weak snow formed right before the New Year. All we need to do is find a weaknesses in the slab, collapse that slope, and now we're staring down the barrel of a very dangerous avalanche. With all the great riding options today, there's no reason to pull on the dogs tail. It doesn't mean you can't get after it. It does mean that by simply toning things down a notch or two and avoiding steep, wind drifted slopes, we can still have a great day of riding and come home safely to our families.
An avalanche peeling off the North facing Moffit Chutes was packing heat when it blasted over this bench, splashing mature timber onto the uphill slope across canyon. (St. Jeor and Scroggin photos)
A few of the natural slides seen here in Upper Weber Canyon. Common theme with all the activity we're seeing is avalanches are very connected, breaking 3'-5' deep, entraining a large volume of snow, running long distances, and snapping mature timber as they crash down the slope.