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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon on
Monday morning, January 25, 2021
While not widespread, CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger is found on steep, upper elevation slopes and HUMAN TRIGGERED AVALANCHES ARE LIKELY, especially in terrain facing the north half of the compass. Remember- our recent storm stacked up on a snowpack that resembles a house of cards and you don't need to be on steep slopes in order to trigger avalanches, you just need connected to them. Avoid being on, near, or underneath steep terrain.
The avalanche danger is MODERATE at mid elevations where less storm snow piled up. And while human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE, they'll be smaller, more manageable, and not as widespread.
I hear you're looking for LOW avalanche danger. Well then, here's your exit strategy for safer riding and avalanche avoidance. The Uinta mountains have plenty of low angle, rolly-polly terrain options (slopes less than 30 degrees in steepness). Think, big open meadows with no steep slopes above or adjacent to where you're riding.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Special Announcements
You wouldn't wanna meet this crew in a dark alley, but you'd be grateful to see 'em roll up if you were in a pinch. It was an honor to help teach an advanced avy class to Summit County SAR this weekend. Huge thanks to a team that helps us out in a bind and to Backcountry Institute for providing such a great group of instructors along with Park City Powder Cats for hosting the gig.
Weather and Snow
Nowcast-
Partly cloudy skies reveal a big, bright, beautiful moon along with an intriguing, o'dark-thirty, back lit silhouette of our mountains. Hardly a breath of wind blows along the high peaks and temperatures register in the single digits. Friday's storm was good to the eastern front, stacking up 10" on the North Slope, while the real-estate on the south half of the range piled up nearly 24". In either case, the storm was a much needed thick coat of white paint and average snow depths now hover just over 3'.
Forecast-
A storm system churns away in central and southern Utah, but we should only see a few scattered snow showers as southwest winds blow in the 20's along the high peaks. High temperatures climb into the mid 20's and overnight lows dip into the single digits.
Futurecast-
It looks like an active pattern keeps unsettled weather coming our way this week, with a couple inches of snow here and there. A potentially more organized system sets up for next weekend.
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
The slide in the image above on a steep, shady slope near Hoyt Peak, was triggered from about 50' away as a rider climbed an adjacent slope. Not particularly big, but large enough to boss you around. The fact that you can trigger avalanches from a distance is a huge red flag.
Check here for additional trip reports and avalanche observations.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
The snowpack is adjusting to Friday's storm and it's slowly becoming more comfortable in its own skin. However, we need to remember, our Persistent Weak Layer, buried in the mid portion of the snowpack is in its teenage years and it doesn't take much effort to get it riled up. In fact, on my field day yesterday, I experienced sudden collapses of the snowpack along with muted whoomphing sounds... all indicators of a weak, rotten snowpack with a dense layer of snow on top.
Here's where things get tricky. The new storm snow will feel light and fluffy on top, but contains about an inch of water, just enough weight and stress to bring our dormant weak layers back to life. So, we need to think about not only the snow we're riding in, but also the snow we're riding on. And remember- any slide triggered will break several feet deep, and a couple hundred feet wide, failing on one of the many persistent weak layers of faceted snow in the snowpack (see the photo below).
There are three things that make the setup deceptively tricky:
  1. You may not see an abundance of in yer face clues like natural avalanches, but many steep slopes wait for a trigger like us to roll along and knock the legs out from underneath.
  2. You won't have to be on steep terrain in order to trigger a slide. Just being near or under a steep slope is enough to to tip the balance. And previous tracks on the slope shouldn't be your barometer of slope stability. It could easily be the 3rd or 4th or 5th person that triggers an avalanche.
  3. Strong winds early last week created dense, hard drifts now hidden under the new snow. These stiff drifts are harder to trigger until you hit the right spot on a slope, which of course we can't see. The resulting avalanche is a thick, hard slab that easily ruins your day or perhaps your season.
Photo clearly showing persistent weak layers buried in the snowpack.
Video describing how you can trigger avalanches from below.
Avalanche Problem #2
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
This small wind drift on the shoulder of Tower Mountain was triggered by a sledder yesterday afternoon. Big enough to let you know you don't want to be on the receiving end, especially if all that snow slams you into a group of trees.
We know the wind always blows in the Uinta's, as a matter of fact... it's where wind was invented! With that in mind, any bump in ridgetop winds will create shallow drifts sensitive to our additional weight. Easy to manage and even easier to avoid... simply lose some elevation and you lose the problem.
Additional Information
I will update this forecast by 7:00 AM tomorrow, Tuesday January 26th.
Your observations are import, so please let me know what you're seeing... click HERE and contribute to this amazing community based program
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]
This forecast is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This forecast describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.
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