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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon on
Wednesday morning, January 15, 2025
Today you'll find MODERATE avalanche danger at and above treeline. Human triggered avalanches are POSSIBLE, especially in the high alpine, wind zone on slopes facing northwest through north through southeast. But there's a catch... any slide triggered has the potential to fail on the mid December weak layer, now buried deeply in our snowpack, and that'll deliver a body-bruising slide that can break up to 4’ deep and hundreds of feet wide. More predictable and potentially less consequential, human-triggered fresh wind drifts are also POSSIBLE on steep, windloaded slopes facing the south half of the compass, especially in terrain with an east component to its orientation.
Instead of taking a chance and rolling the dice on steep, upper elevation, shady slopes, I'm having a blast on wind sheltered, lower angle northerly (polar) aspects with no overhead hazard, or tipping the slope angle up slightly where I know there's no PWL on the southerly (solar) aspects.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Weather and Snow
Nowcast- A band of high, thin clouds drifts through the region early this morning delivering a snow flurry or two along with temperatures in the single digits. North and northwest winds partied through the night, blowing in the 40's near the high peaks, but decided to call it an evening at o'dark thirty and are slowly decreasing into the 30's at most ridgetop locations. The snow surface took a hit in our high alpine terrain, but soft, creamy snow is still found on wind sheltered, mid and low elevation slopes.
Forecast- Clouds filter out later this morning and I think a beautiful day is on tap. Look for mostly sunny skies, diminishing winds, and high temperatures climbing into the low 30's. Under clear skies, overnight lows dip into the teens.
Futurecast- As high pressure builds, so does the valley gunk. It looks like we're high and dry through the week, with a slight suggestion for storminess late Friday, though I think it's mostly a dry, cold system.
Dan the G-man doing it right and having a blast this weekend, surfing some mellow waves on low angle, low elevation terrain, while scoring a day of 5 star riding... well played sir!
Recent Avalanches
No new avalanche activity since Sunday's slide triggered near the Duchesne Ridge on a heavily wind loaded, northeast facing slope. Breaking 2'-4’ deep and a couple hundred feet wide, this avalanche highlights our problem child... the mid December drought layer now buried in the mid to lower portion of the snowpack.
You can find all travel observations and recent slides from across the range and beyond, here.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Recent storms have blanketed the western Uinta's and the place is looking mighty white and feeling solid underfoot. But don't let appearances fool you. In fact, we're entering a tricky period in our snowpack's timeline and that's when we tend to get complacent. Even though the Uinta's are starting to feel a bit more predictable, the snowpack is relatively young, kinda like it's in its early 20's. Sure, it's getting comfortable in its own skin for the moment, problem is... it's still a bit unpredictable and kinda quirky. So, while the chances of triggering a deep, dangerous avalanche have decreased slightly, the consequences remain the same. Likely suspect terrain I'm steering clear of are steep, rocky slopes, especially where the pack is slightly thinner and I could still knock the legs out from underneath the snow above me.
The snowpack structure is coming around, but it's a patience game. I'm not jumping into steep, shady terrain and I'm not hiding under the bed either. Instead, I'm ever so slightly and very cautiously, slowly nibbling on the edges of bigger terrain to get a feel for the snowpack and a finger on the pulse of which way we're trending.
Avalanche Problem #2
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Above is a 24 hour data dump showing winds humming along near Currant Creek Peak (10,547')
North and northwest winds have no shortage of snow available to blow around and form sensitive, yet generally predicable drifts on the leeward side of mid and upper elevation ridges. Pretty straight-forward avalanche problem. However, what's slightly unusual is the strength and duration of recent winds. In fact, I bet you'll find a drift or two lower down slope or even cross-loaded around terrain features like chutes and gully walls. Lose the wind and we lose the problem. Simply seek out wind sheltered, mid and lower elevation terrain. We avoid the avalanche hazard and score a great day of riding to boot... scoot :)
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 Wednesday, January 15th 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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