Forecast for the Abajos Area Mountains

Eric Trenbeath
Issued by Eric Trenbeath on
Friday morning, January 15, 2021
Human triggered avalanches remain likely on steep, northerly facing slopes that have enough snow to ski or ride. However, due to a lack of sufficient snow cover on the majority of the terrain, the avalanche danger is isolated to specific features and therefore MODERATE. With the current snowpack structure consisting of a slab on top of layers of weak, sugary, faceted snow, steep, NW-E facing slopes with sufficient cover should be avoided for the foreseeable future. Blowing and drifting of snow may exacerbate this problem, particularly on slopes with an easterly component to their aspect. Most south-facing terrain has generally LOW danger.
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Weather and Snow
Moderate to strong northerly winds will continue to blow in the high country though they should begin to abate as the jet stream shifts east. Skies will be mostly sunny with high temps in the low 30's. We should see a few clouds tonight and into Saturday as a weak system brushes by to the north. A glimmer of hope appears on the horizon early next week with a chance for snow Mon-Tue.
Snow totals at Buckboard Flat (8924')
Snow totals at Camp Jackson (8858')
Snowpack Discussion
The current snowpack is very shallow and most of it is comprised of layers of loose, weak, sugary snow. On northerly aspects, a slab overrides this weak sugary snow and this creates an unstable situation on slopes that have enough snow to ski or ride. Conditions are deceiving due to the overall lack of coverage and the general inaccessibility of avalanche terrain, but if you went searching for an avalanche you could still find one. With the current snowpack structure, steep northerly facing terrain with sufficient coverage should be avoided for the foreseeable future.
Additional Information
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.

New to the backcountry (including riding at closed resorts) - Watch the award-winning, 15 minute Know Before You Go video, or take the 5-part, free online-learning series.
General Announcements
This forecast is from the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This forecast describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.