UDOT PLANNED AVALANCHE CLOSURES!!
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Forecast for the Uintas Area Mountains

Craig Gordon
Issued by Craig Gordon on
Saturday morning, February 15, 2025
Deceptively dangerous avalanche conditions exist. Don't let the low density, in-yer-face, surface snow trick you into thinking the snowpack is bomber and good to go... it isn't!
HIGH avalanche danger exists on mid and upper elevation slopes facing the north half of the compass. Human triggered avalanches are VERY LIKELY. Any avalanche triggered today is gonna result in a large, dangerous, UNSURVIVABLE, tree snapping, we don't come home to our family kinda avalanche.
Even lower elevations get in on the act where you'll find CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger and human triggered avalanches are LIKELY.
Avalanche conditions are SUPER SKETCHY-
We wanna see you getting out and enjoying this amazing storm but most importantly, we wanna see all of our backcountry family come home safely at the end of the day.
So here's our exit strategy... we can ride safely today by choosing miles and miles of big open meadows, far away from avalanche runout zones, and with no overhead hazard... that means no steep slopes above or adjacent to where we're riding.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Avalanche Warning
What- The avalanche danger for the warning area is HIGH today and may rise to EXTREME in some areas this weekend.
When- In effect from 6am MST this morning to 6am MST Sunday
Where- For all the mountains of Utah and Southeast Idaho, including the Wasatch Range, Bear River Range, Uinta Mountains, Wasatch Plateau, Manti Skyline, the La Sal Mountains, the Tushar Range....
Impacts- Recent heavy snow and drifting by strong winds have created widespread areas of unstable snow and very dangerous avalanche conditions at all elevations. Natural and human-triggered avalanches are likely. People should avoid travel in all avalanche terrain and keep out of avalanche runouts. This means you should stay off of and out from under slopes steeper than 30 degrees.
Weather and Snow
Nowcast- One last gasp of moisture is pushing through at o'dark thirty, delivering an additional 6" of chin tickling snow. This final push wraps up quite the storm for the eastern front with some Herculean snow and water totals focused on the Mirror Lake Corridor and south half of the range- Trial Lake clocks in at 24" snow/2.5" H2O. Currant Creek 20"/2.1" H2O, North Slope closer to 18"/1.8" H2O. Over-the-hood and over-the-head... February's Snow Moon delivers! Temperatures register in the teens and low 20's with mostly cloudy skies overhead, while westerly winds blow in the mid 20's near the high peaks.
Forecast- Look for scattered snow showers as the tail end of the storm slides through later this morning, but I bet we see breaks in the clouds and some sunshine by mid afternoon. High temperatures climb into the mid 20's and overnight lows dive into the teens.
Futurecast- Sunday service begins with short-lived clearing, before yet another shot of snow rolls through late in the day. Not a big storm, but a nice 6"-10" topper.
Recent Avalanches
I know you came for the snow, but hope you'll stay for the all you can eat, optically intriguing, avalanche buffet, offering a myriad of weak layers and crown sizes for your viewing pleasure... mmm :)
Meaty, beaty, big, and bouncy... the Uinta's came alive midday Thursday with an uptick in winds. Andy Nassetta is on a nearby ridge and literally watches the dust settle as a hanging snowfield in Upper Mill Fork delivers a massive 1200’ wide, 2'-10’ deep, very connected, tree snapping, drainage crashing, naturally triggered, Uinta-kinda avalanche.
Smaller, yet still packing a punch, mid elevation, unassuming road cuts like in the image above came to life Friday, running on a heat crust under the recent storm snow. Remember- even a small slide can boss you around and these could still be a player today.
Get up to speed by checking out obs, avalanches and trip reports from across the range and beyond, here!
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Avalanche Problem #1
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
From Upper Weber Canyon a large, well connected, natural avalanche occurring early Friday morning. These are the kinds of avalanches we can trigger today... no bueno!
We have a complex snowpack, it's unusually tricky, and these are the kind of conditions that kill riders so there's no reason to second guess, try to outsmart, or thread the needle on this one. Avalanches are breaking to the dirt. Slopes facing the north half of the compass are bullseye terrain.
The good news is... the coverage is absolutely remarkable and there's miles and miles of terrain to ride without even having to put ourselves at risk. Avoidance is key right now and all the avy-savvy folks I know are simply avoiding terrain where the problem exists and still get in a great day of riding. Done and done!
Avalanche Problem #2
Wind Drifted Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
31 hour data dump from Windy Peak (10,661')
Our big storm had lots of snow, but it also pummeled the region with lots of wind, whipping up hard and soft slabs at all elevations. It'll be tricky out there today because recent drifts are concealed with last nights snow, making them harder to detect.
But we got your back and here's what we're seeing... drifts are widespread, found tip to tail and cross-loaded in chutes and gullies, and lower downslope than you might expect. Ya gotta be on your game today and avoid any fat looking rounded pillows of snow, because once initiated, they'll break deeper and wider than you might expect. An easy out is to simply steer your snow vehicle to wind sheltered terrain, avoid the problem alltogether, and get a great day of riding... done and done.
Avalanche Problem #3
New Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Generally, new snow instabilities are pretty straight-forward and begin stabilizing rather quickly. The curve ball here is that there is a ton of new snow even at lower elevations like around our cabins and foothills. So... we need to avoid travel under steep slopes even if we're taking the dog out for a walk, trail running, or snowshoeing.
Additional Information
The UAC Avalanche Transceiver Training Park is rocking and rolling at the Nobletts trailhead. Break out your gear, dust off your backcountry partners, and sharpen your perishable rescue skills with some practice!
General Announcements
We are always looking for snow and avalanche observations or just general riding conditions. In the meantime reach out to us with questions, concerns, or if you see anything in your travels! Contact us directly through the info below:
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 Saturday, February 15th at 04:30AM and expires 24 hours after it was issued.
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