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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon on
Tuesday morning, March 10, 2020
Making up a small portion of terrain available to ride on today, in the wind zone, at and above treeline, you'll find pockets of MODERATE avalanche danger. Human triggered avalanches are possible on steep wind drifted, upper elevation slopes, especially those with an easterly component to their aspect. And here's something to consider... if you're getting into steep, technical terrain, even a small slide can knock you off your ride, slam you into a tree, and throw a curve ball at your day.
Lose a little elevation, you lose the wind and you'll encounter generally LOW avalanche danger.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Special Announcements
Save the date and bring a date! Please join me at Backcountry HQ in Park City, this Thursday March 12th, beginning at 6:30. I'll lead an interactive discussion on current Wasatch snowpack conditions, a recap of this season’s close calls and accidents, how to stay on the right side of the fracture line, and predictions for the rest of the season. It's a free gig, but space is limited and registration is required. Click here to reserve a space.
Weather and Snow
Currently-
Skies cleared late last night and temperatures dipped into the teens and mid 20's. Southerly winds still hum along the high peaks, blowing in the 30's and 40's. Sunday nights over-producing storm snow took on some heat yesterday and lower elevation snow got damp and is crusty this morning. But gain a bit o' elevation, head to wind sheltered shady terrain, and you'll be rewarded with cold, creamy snow.
Uinta weather network info is found here. Simply click on the Western Uinta tab.
For today-
Expect high clouds and scattered snow showers, especially this afternoon. Winds diminish as the day progresses and high temperatures climb into the mid 30's.
Futurecast-
About the same for Wednesday with a drying trend slated for the latter half of the work week.
Recent Avalanches
Yesterday's fresh wind drifts were reactive to the additional weight of a rider in upper elevation terrain, whilst damp sluffs were reported on steep, lower elevation slopes.
To view additional trip reports and recent avalanche activity, simply click here.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
You know the drill.... follow the wind and you'll find the avalanche. Above is a 24 hour data dump from Lofty Lake Peak (11,186').
Winds have been busy at work since early Monday afternoon, blowing in the 30's and 40's and I think there's enough loose snow available to blow around and form wind drifts sensitive to our additional weight. Isolated to steep, leeward terrain in the wind zone, once triggered, recent drifts are large enough to catch your attention. Not particularly widespread, but remember... if you're tagging steep, technical terrain, be aware that even a small slide could knock you off your feet and boss you around. So, the ticket to riding safely today is simply look for and avoid any fat, rounded piece of snow, especially if it sounds hollow like a drum.
Additional Information
What a great time of year for multiple activities. O'dark thirty gym sesh, daylight ride, evening tennis... looks like a pretty sweet week coming to the City of Salt. Computer models suggest a change in the pattern late in the weekend.
General Announcements
The information in this forecast expires in 24 hours, but will be updated by 7:00 AM Wednesday Mar. 11th.
This forecast is updated daily by 7:00 AM.
In the mean-time, if you see or trigger an avalanche or just wanna let me know what you're seeing you can reach me directly at 801-231-2170
This is a great time of year to schedule one of our free avy awareness presentations.
You can email me directly [email protected]
The information in this forecast is from the US Forest Service which is solely responsible for its content.