Uintas Conditions 2019

andyjaggy said:
Not the Uintas, but I went up AF canyon last night and there is still a ridiculous amount of snow in the mountains. Last year at this time I was hiking up to Silver Lake without any snow, judging from what I could see last night, there is probably at least 5 feet of snow at that elevation this year.

Hiking along the benches a few days ago and there were more wildflowers out than I can ever remember seeing before. Should be a beautiful summer once we can get up there.
Click to expand...

Snotel near Horse Flat off the Summit of the Alpine Loop at about 8200 feet yesterday showed 23 inches and is now currently down to 18 inches of snow. These evening rains and warming temperatures are probably going to start melting out a lot of it real fast. It certainly feels like monsoon season is already here given the current weather pattern we've been having around here the last few days.
 
I spent some time on Saturday opening up a youth camp at about 9300' near the confluence of WFBF and EFBF. The camp was accessible and usable, but as you can see in the pics below, there are still some snow drifts.
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Not all the campsites were this snowed in, but...
campsite.jpg

Looking north toward Tokewanna Peak (I think)
lake.jpg

About 10 miles down the road and about 500' lower in elevation, the area around Meeks Cabin Res. seemed pretty well clear of snow and usable.

Temps in the 40s and off and on rain all day.
 
https://backcountrypost.com/threads/uintas-conditions-2018.7382/page-3

Sure is fun to look at pictures and reports from last year around the same time and see how much more snow there is this year. Hard to believe Dave made it to the summit of Mount Watson and then saw so little snow on June 10 last year!


But then you look at stuff like this and see how ridiculously above average our snowpack is (and how below average it is for the PNW. Fingers crossed they don't suffer from too many wildfires).

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And then we can do a direct comparison of June 4, 2019 and June 4, 2018, and the difference is insane.

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Unfortunate that it delays the hiking and backpacking up there, but I'll take it. The drought relief is fantastic. And I'm done with school now so I can spend more time in the mountains later in the season :D
 
Looks like they aren't going to start plowing the Mirror Lake Highway until June 17th this year and they think it'll take about a week once they do.

www.ksl.com

Utah highway reopening after unusually long snow closure

A northern Utah highway popular with outdoor recreation enthusiasts is fully reopening after being closed this year two weeks later than is normal because of accumulated snow.
www.ksl.com www.ksl.com
 
Nick said:
Looks like they aren't going to start plowing the Mirror Lake Highway until June 17th this year and they think it'll take about a week once they do.

www.ksl.com

Utah highway reopening after unusually long snow closure

A northern Utah highway popular with outdoor recreation enthusiasts is fully reopening after being closed this year two weeks later than is normal because of accumulated snow.
www.ksl.com www.ksl.com
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Last year proved that the bug cycle mirrored the early melt - came early and were mostly gone by mid July.

With a late melt this year will the monsoon come later as well?
 
DrNed said:
Last year proved that the bug cycle mirrored the early melt - came early and were mostly gone by mid July.

With a late melt this year will the monsoon come later as well?
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The monsoon doesn't give a damn about how much snow is in the mountains. It's all driven by atmospheric conditions far south of Utah. If it's anything like 2011, prepare for heavy bugs in mid-August though.
 
Nick said:
The monsoon doesn't give a damn about how much snow is in the mountains. It's all driven by atmospheric conditions far south of Utah. If it's anything like 2011, prepare for heavy bugs in mid-August though.
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Thanks Nick

That was not a well worded question. The better question would have been,
does the weather patterns that created more snow this winter affect when
the monsoon season hits?

After reading @LarryBoy it sounds like, "maybe"?
 
So I was comparing snow depths at Trial Lake this year to snow depths
at Trial Lake in 2014 - the last time I did Dead Horse Pass and the melt
this year is almost exactly 3 weeks behind what it was in 2014.

Did anyone do Dead Horse the first week of July 2014 and have pictures
or memories of what it was like?

Thanks.
 
DrNed said:
So I was comparing snow depths at Trial Lake this year to snow depths
at Trial Lake in 2014 - the last time I did Dead Horse Pass and the melt
this year is almost exactly 3 weeks behind what it was in 2014.

Did anyone do Dead Horse the first week of July 2014 and have pictures
or memories of what it was like?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
I did it July 6ish, 2014. I only have one photo that I can access via mobile, and it doesnt really do the snow justice. Link below. I thought it was challenging but fine going up the north side... but I wouldn't have wanted to descend that same side. A couple buddies thought it pretty scary (none of us had spikes or an axe).

www.lbhikes.com

Life Elevated

(Note - this post comprises the second half of my big western adventure this summer. I hiked the Uinta Highline Trail with a group of AT vet...
www.lbhikes.com www.lbhikes.com

Photo: https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xJ8bNPbWOKA/U_AO8W-somI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/WJCjsGlmPj4/s1600/DSCN0390.JPG
 
I should say that the trail was covered enough that the best option was to go directly up the fall line on snow, kicking steps. Timing it up is obviously key, so it's not too hard or soft.
 
Am I safe in assuming that anything above ~ 9500ft will be buried for quite awhile?

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Eric O said:
Am I safe in assuming that anything above ~ 9500ft will be buried for quite awhile
Click to expand...

The Trial Lake snotel is at about 9900 feet and it’s saying 26” as of 1:00 today. It’s lost 3” in the last 24 hours. While the access to the high country is later this year *I think* there’s going to be a fast melt. But I’m no meteorologist, I just play one on backcountry forums.;)
 
For those of you who are on Facebook... any updates from the Forest Service?


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