Introduction: Good Morning this
is Dave Medara with the
WE ARE STARTING TO FILL UP OUR AIARE LEVEL 1 AND LEVEL
2 CLASSES BEING HELD IN THE LA SALS THIS YEAR.
THE LEVEL 1 IS FEBRUARY 3RD-5TH (FRI-SUN), WHILE
OUR LEVEL 2 IS MARCH 3RD-6TH
(FRI-MON). CALL (435)
636-3363 FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO SIGN UP.
EACH CLASS IS LIMITED TO 12 STUDENTS.
TUITION GOES TO THE FRIENDS OF THE
To see past advisories check out the ARCHIVE. To see current conditions go to our WEATHER PAGE. To see photos go to the AVIPHOTOS page.
General Conditions:
The NWS is
calling for a chance of snow today but I’m willing to bet we won’t
see anything out of the system passing to our N. right now. Conditions remain
unchanged in the La Sals with a mixture of sun crusts, wind slabs and sastrugi
above treeline. Conditions below treeline aren’t much better as the
rotten base makes for very tricky conditions in the powder for skiing, boarding
or snowmobiling out there. The best ride out there is still on the packed out
roads and trails of the La Sals. The cross-country and skate skiing are excellent
The
road to the Geyser Pass Trailhead has been plowed, although 4WD and chains
could make your chances of reaching the trailhead greater. We still need a good solid snowfall to cover
most of the obstacles still present in the backcountry.
Current Conditions: (click location for latest data)
Geyser
Pass Trailhead (9,600’):
11.0” at the SNOTEL.
17” at the GPTH Snowstake, 22 degrees at the
Mountain Weather: (At 10,500’)
Today: A 20 percent chance of snow. Partly cloudy, with a high around 36. Northwest
wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 10. North northwest wind
between 5 and 10 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high around 31. North wind around 5 mph
becoming calm. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Avalanche Conditions: (Link to the
International Avalanche Danger Scale here)
Observations this week confirmed that there
was a large avalanche cycle due to the wind event on the 2nd and 3rd. Avalanches on North through East aspects were
observed above, at and below treeline.
These avalanches failed on the depth hoar layer and slid to the ground. The natural avalanche cycle has ended but the
possibility of a human triggered avalanche still remains. Not every steep
Northeast-North-Northwest slope has failed in the last avalanche cycle, in fact
only a small percentage did. This means
that in areas that did not avalanche and “flush out” the depth hoar
crystals in the lower snow pack, the danger of triggering these slopes is still
there. The BOTTOM LINE for today
will be an avalanche danger of MODERATE on steep E-NE-N-NW slopes greater than 35 degrees
and at all elevations. Be especially
careful wind-deposited slopes on these aspects.
The wind blew so hard for the past couple of days that wind slabs can be
found in the trees as well.
You can also get this message by calling
435-259-7669