UDOT PLANNED AVALANCHE CLOSURES!!
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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon on
Friday morning, March 29, 2019
Limited to a small percentage of the terrain available to ride in today, at and above treeline you'll find MODERATE avalanche danger. Human triggered DRY SNOW avalanches are POSSIBLE, especially on steep leeward slopes facing the north half of the compass.
In addition, if the sun comes out for any length of time the danger of WET SNOW avalanches will rapidly rise to MODERATE and human triggered avalanches become POSSIBLE on all steep, snow covered slopes.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Special Announcements
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
A band of snow developed late last night, delivering 2"-4" of medium density snow across the range, with close to 7" stacking up in the higher elevations of the North Slope. Temperatures cooled as the front arrived and currently register in the mid teens and low 20's. Winds switched to the west and northwest around 2:00 this morning and just began bumping into the 30's and 40's along the high peaks. Riding and turning conditions vastly improved overnight and I think low angle slopes are the ticket, as our recent coat of white paint will help cushion some of the old, hard snow surfaces.
Above is hourly data from Chalk Creek (9,169')
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 to report from Wednesday.
Recent trip reports and avy activity found HERE.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Yesterdays' strong southerly winds found enough loose snow to blow around and form stiff drifts along the leeward side of upper elevation ridges... pretty straight-forward. But with last night's snow and now additional wind whipping up a fresh batch of drifts, we'll have several layers of snow to contend with. The good news is, this avalanche problem is small in scope and limited to steep, upper elevation, leeward slopes in the wind zone. So today you'll want to continue looking for and avoiding any fat, rounded piece of snow, especially if it sounds hollow like a drum. Easier yet... lose some elevation and you'll lose the problem.
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.
Avalanche Problem #2
Wet Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
If the sun comes out for any length of time the danger of wet avalanches will rapidly rise. It doesn't take much provocation to get a wet sluff to move slowly downhill. Problem is... when all that damp, cement-like snow piles up deeply in a terrain trap like a gully or a road cut. The good news is... this is a totally manageable avalanche problem, but we need to stay ahead of the curve. If the snow you're riding gets wet and manky, or if it feels punchy or like a trap door under your skis, board, or sled... simply get off of and out from under steep terrain.
Additional Information
Snow showers continue through the morning before tapering off as the day wares on. A couple more inches are expected. High temperatures rise into the 30's and overnight low dip into the teens. West and northwest winds blow in the 20's and 30's, gusting into the 50's along the high peaks. A break in the storminess is on tap for late tonight into Saturday morning with another shot of snow slated for Saturday night into Sunday.
General Announcements
The information in this advisory expires 24 hours after the date and time posted, but will be updated by 7:00 AM Saturday March 30th, 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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