US Forest Service Manti-La Sal National
Forest
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:
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 trace of snow that fell Sunday
afternoon won’t be enough to freshen up the mess that is our snowpack
here in the La Sals. 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.
We still need a good solid snowfall to cover most of the obstacles still
present in the backcountry. The NWS has
upped the precipitation forecast for Wednesday night to 2-4 inches so hope for
the best! This one is supposed to be
measured in feet (not inches) in the Northern part of the state so pray we at
least get some of it!
The road to the
Geyser Pass Trailhead has been plowed, but it is really slick in places, 4WD
and chains are still recommended, especially for the ride down.
Current Conditions: (click location for latest data)
Geyser
Pass Trailhead (9,600’): 10.5”
at the SNOTEL. 17” at the GPTH
Snowstake, 15 degrees at the
Mountain Weather: (At 10,500’)
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high around 40. South southwest wind between 5 and
10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 21. South southwest wind
between 5 and 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Wednesday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 31. South southwest wind
between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
Wednesday Night: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a low near 16. Breezy, with a
southwest wind between 15 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of
precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible. Yeah.
Avalanche Conditions: (Link to the
International Avalanche Danger Scale here)
Not
much going on in avalanche land out there, YET. We still have some very weak
snowpack structures and wind slabs up high so we are keeping the avalanche
danger at MODERATE
on upper and mid-elevation (at or just below treeline) E-NE-NW facing slopes steeper than 35 degrees.
We are calling the avalanche danger LOW elsewhere in the range. This means that the
possibility of human triggered avalanches does exist, so use careful
route finding if you’re out bagging peaks in the La Sals. Stay on the
ridges and avoid downwind, loaded slopes. The variable to watch now is this
next storm. The snow that has been on the ground in the La Sals is very thin
and rotten. Even a small load of new snow is likely to result in instability and
possibly some large avalanches. Here’s an example: 10 days ago we
measured 5” of new snow at the Geyser Pass Trailhead. This equated to 10”
in
We would like to invite everyone to
attend a Basic Avalanche Awareness Seminar on Friday the 13th at the
Moab Information Center at 7:00 PM. Free Admission.
You can also get this message by calling
435-259-7669