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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon on
Monday morning, November 30, 2020
The avalanche danger is generally LOW. The biggest threat is slamming into a season ending obstacle like a tree stump hidden under the thin facade of an early season snowpack.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Special Announcements
Just 'cause you can see it from the car doesn't mean it's safe or you're good to go. Our front-line health care workers are maxed out. So, let's collectively think about our decisions and the consequences that may have on others.
The holiday season is right around the corner!! Looking for that special something for your partner? or yourself?
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Looking for ways to navigate through an unusual winter? Please visit this website with information about Responsible Winter Recreation by the Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation
Weather and Snow
Nowcast-
High pressure dominates our weather this morning, with clear skies and temperatures in the teens to low 20's. Southerly winds blow 10-20 mph along the high peaks. Our Thanksgiving storm helped freshen things up a bit, delivering 4" of light density white paint, but with overall snow depths just below two feet, it's still pretty thin out there.
Forecast-
Look for mostly sunny skies with temperatures climbing into the mid 30's. Clouds increase and southwest winds bump into 30's late in the day.
Futurecast-
A fast moving cold front slides through the region late tonight into Tuesday, bringing cooler temperatures and a few scattered snow flakes. Another similar looking storm impacts our zone late Wednesday.
Ted was in the Gold Hill area yesterday and found similar snow structure and coverage to what I saw near Wolf Creek on Friday. The snowpack is thin and travel limited to grassy slopes and road rides. Ted's insight and take on North Slope conditions is found here.
Looking for real-time temps, snow, or wind?
Click here and then on the "western Uinta" tab for western Uinta specific, weather station network.
Recent Avalanches
No new avalanche activity to report.
To view trip reports and recent avalanche activity, simply click here.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Normal Caution
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
While the avalanche hazard is generally LOW, there's enough light density snow to blow around and there may be a shallow, fresh wind drift that reacts to our additional weight. Sure... you'd really have to go out of your way to find an avalanche today, but if you do trigger a slide the danger of slamming into a season ending obstacle is very real. So... look for and avoid any fat, rounded piece of snow, tone it down, take it slow and remember- it's a long season and you definitely don't want to instantly end it before things get going.
Additional Information
We are in the process of establishing a snow study site near Camp Steiner. The automated weather station delivers real-time snow fall, total snow depth, and current temperatures. This data fills in a big black hole of snow information near Mirror Lake. Last week, we visited the site to establish comms with Lofty Lake Peak and all is go to start hauling the gear into place this week. I'd like to give a big shout out to Sean and Jesse from the NWS along with Ted Scroggin, our main man in the Uinta's... the entire crew is pictured above.
I'll update this forecast by 7:00 AM tomorrow, Tuesday December 1st.
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Information on outdoor recreation - The State of Utah created this webpage with information about recreating on both state and federal public lands during the current health crisis.

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General Announcements
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 or [email protected]
The information in this forecast is from the US Forest Service which is solely responsible for its content.