Observation: Gold Hill

Observation Date

3/4/2026

Observer Name

Ted Scroggin

Region

Uintas » Gold Hill

Location Name or Route

Gold Hill

Weather

Sky

Clear

Wind Direction

Southwest

Wind Speed

Moderate

Weather Comments

Coolish morning in the 20's, quickly warming up as I hit the trailhead with temperatures already in the low 30's. The southwest winds were on the rise as the day went on and I only noticed minimal snow transport where I traveled. It was a beautiful day with clear blue skies and new snow to freshen things up.

Snow Characteristics

New Snow Depth

10"

New Snow Density

High

Snow Surface Conditions

Faceted Loose

Melt-Freeze Crust

Damp

Snow Characteristics Comments

Monday's storm delivered about 10" of high to medium density snow that helped to fill in old tracks and it felt like a nice reset. The clear skies overnight helped dry out the surface snow creating some surface hoar that rode and traveled quite nice on the north side of the compass.

Red Flags

Collapsing

Poor Snowpack Structure

Red Flags Comments

Generally conditions today felt less tricky and a little relaxed, although I did have one decent collapse, but felt better about how the snowpack is moving forward.

Avalanche Problem #1

Problem

Persistent Weak Layer

Trend

Decreasing Danger

Problem #1 Comments

The poor snowpack structure is still there, but generally felt like the weak faceted snow under the slab has been adjusting.

Avalanche Problem #2

Problem

Wind Drifted Snow

Trend

Increasing Danger

Problem #2 Comments

Only some minor wind drifting while I was out this afternoon, but would anticipate increasing hazard as the storm moves in this evening.

Comments

I poked around on some older natural avalanches from last week on northeast facing slopes in Gold Hill. The weak January faceted snow collapsed under the weight of the two to three foot slab of snow that was on top .

This small avalanche caught my eye on the east side of Moffit Peak. It has been very interesting to see where the weakest snow developed during the long dry January.

The only recent avalanche activity I observed from the storm was this wind/storm slab off the Gold Hill ridgeline.

The 8" of new snow we received on Monday is helping to keep the highway hanging on and hope a few more spring storms will prevent the dreaded pavement from reappearing.

Today's Observed Danger Rating

Moderate

Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating

Moderate

Coordinates

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