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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon on
Thursday morning, January 9, 2025
Today's avalanche dragon has two tails and a tale to tell-
First... CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger is found in the windzone in terrain facing northwest through north through southeast. While pockety and becoming harder to initiate, human-triggered avalanches are LIKELY on steep, upper elevation slopes and may produce a slide breaking 2'-4' deep and hundreds of feet wide.
In addiiton, you'll encounter CONSIDERABLE avalanche hazard on the south half of the compass where recent winds whip up drifts sensitive to our additional weight. And while fresh drifts may seem more manageable and predictable, don't get let your guard down... even a small slide can take you for a body bruising ride in sustained steep terrain.
Mid elevation terrain offers MODERATE avalanche danger. Human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE on steep, shady, wind sheltered slopes where you still might encounter a meaty slab that breaks to weaker layers buried in the mid portion of the snowpack.
So here's my exit strategy.... I'm finding quality riding, soft creamy snow, and generally LOW avy danger in wind sheltered, lower elevation terrain around the compass.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Special Announcements
Please join Craig Gordon, that's me, tonight from 6-8 PM at Mammut HQ for a state of the snowpack prezo. It's gonna be educational... it's bound to be informative.... and sources on the street tell me it might even be entertaining :)
Here's the deets-
Weather and Snow
Nowcast - While a flurry or two gets squeezed out of a cold, dry storm clipping northern Utah early this morning, the bigger news are the west and northwest winds which blast into the 30's and 40's, raking our upper elevation ridges. And man... it's cold with temperatures registering in the single digits, creating wind chill values to -17 degrees near the high peaks. Big winds will be unkind to big, open terrain, and unfortunately, I think vast swaths of the alpine have taken a hard hit.
Forecast- A cool dry day is on tap. Look for mostly sunny skies with temperatures crawling out of the icebox and climbing into the mid 20's. Northerly winds are gonna be obnoxiously blowing in the 30's near the high peaks.
Futurecast- Look for increasing clouds late Friday as storminess slides into the region overnight, but computer models can't agree to disagree. However, I do think a little refresh is on tap for the weekend. Perhaps a couple inches of snow each day before high pressure and sunny skies return to kick off the work week.
Current Conditions-
Micheal J tracked the recent storm and avalanche activity in a zone he's very familiar with and used this intel to his advantage, deciding to ski steep terrain he knew already avalanched big during the New Years storm cycle... a very savvy way to avoid and manage the school of White Sharks migrating through our upper elevation, shady terrain. More on MJ's travels found here.
All Uinta obs and trip reports can be found here.
Recent Avalanches
Kyle submitted an awesome trip report and this image from a recent avy in the Moffit zone. He was unsure as to the timing, but it looks rather fresh and there's lots of big game stomping around in terrain that looks like this. Important take away.... avy activity isn't widespread and the walls aren't caving in, but a few landmines are out there waiting for us to roll along and knock the legs out from underneath. More of Kyle's travels and insight found here.
All Uinta obs and trip reports can be found here.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
What a treat! Earlier this week on the south half of the range out of Lake Creek, Paige and I overlapped with snow-pro and avy educator extraordinaire, Joey Manship. What a pleasure to watch Joey, along with local avy-savvy pros, Tyler St. Jeor and Big Al help spread the avalanche gospel to our good friends and longtime partners, a group of law enforcement personnel from Dept. of Natural Resources. Above.... Senor Manship shares his snowpit stability test and hazard philosophy.
As we see fewer recent avalanches and less obvious signs of instability (cracking, collapsing, or whumphing sounds), it may seem like the weak layer is strengthening, but there is still a likely chance of triggering a large avalanche.
So... how am I manaaging this avalanche dragon? I'm steering clear of avalanche terrain on the north half of the compass, I'm changing aspects, and heading for wind shltered sunny slopes where creamy pow meets warm sunshine and delivers quality riding and less risk of triggering an unmanageably large avalanche. Hmm... seems like a good business model... I'll take it!
Avalanche Problem #2
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Above is a 24 hour data dump from Currant Creek Peak (10,547')
Stiff drifts are found on the leeward side of upper elevation ridges and around terrain features like chutes and gullies with a southerly component to its aspect. For today... look for rounded, pillows of snow that may sound hollow like a drum. You know the drill... lose the wind and you lose the problem... and get great riding to boot!
Additional Information
We are deeply saddened to confirm two avalanche fatalities. The first involved a 38 year old man in Main Porter Fork of Mill Creek Canyon who went missing on Saturday. The second avalanche fatality occurred Tuesday and involved a 54 year old man off Davenport Hill into Silver Fork of BCC. Both individuals were traveling alone in the backcountry. Please know, our hearts are heavy for the family and friends of these riders.
Many thanks to those who responded to these accidents: search and rescue teams from AirMed, LifeFlight, Utah Dept Public Safety, Utah Department of Transportation, Salt Lake County Search and Rescue, Wasatch Backcountry Rescue, Alta Ski Area, and members of the Utah Avalanche Center.
General Announcements
The Uinta weather station network was upgraded this summer and all that real-time info is found here. Simply click on the "Western Uinta" tab and then the "Weather Stations" tab to find all your weather needs.
We are always looking for snow and avalanche observations or just general riding conditions. So... if you see something, say something. You can reach our team directly by contacting: Craig at craig@utahavalanchecenter.org, 801-231-2170, or Andrew at andy@utahavalanchecenter.org, or 860-460-8142.
General Information
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. This forecast was issued on Thursday, January 9th at 04:00AM and expires 24 hours after it was issued. We will update the forecast by 0700 AM tomorrow. But, in the meantime reach out to us with questions, or if you see anything in your travels.
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