Advisory: Moab Area Mountains | Issued by Max Forgensi for March 2, 2013 - 7:26am |
---|
Above treeline
Near treeline
Below treeline
|
bottom line The Bottom Line for today will be an Avalanche Danger of Moderate in the La Sal and Abajo Mountain ranges for wet loose point releases in the afternoon on sunny aspects and persistent slabs at and above treeline on shady aspects. From now on, starting early and ending early will not only increase the margin of safety, but allow for an afternoon mountain bike ride in the Red Rock Desert.
|
current conditions The La Sal and Abajo Mountains are starting to feel the heat of the desert. Yesterday, temperatures creeped above freezing at the Geyser Pass Winter TH while down at Camp Jackson in the Abajos, temperatures stayed above freezing for the first time throughout the night. The warm temperatures and direct sunlight is definitely going to affect the mountains once again today, creating early season surface corn conditions on southerly aspects by mid day and on west aspects late in the afternoon. The Geyser Pass Winter TH holds 39" (~ 98 cm) of snow on the ground, while Gold Basin holds 60" (150 cm) of snow, continuing to be slightly above average for snow water equivalent. Decent powder conditions will be found on sheltered north and east aspects at and below treeline. LUNA volunteers went up to groom the Geyser Pass and Gold Basin tracks on Friday...thank you volunteers! The roads and parking lots have been plowed, so access to all the trailheads should only require 2WD today. A suggestion to backcountry travelers today. Wax your skis and bring globstopper wax for your skins. Small nuances with sun and shadow will create flypaper conditions in the backcountry in the afternoon. |
recent activity No reports coming in the past couple of days. For those who would like to take a look at observations posted across the La Sal and Abajo Mountains, click HERE. Thank you to everyone that keeps contributing! |
type | aspect/elevation | characteristics |
---|
Above treeline
Near treeline
Below treeline
|
|
description
More sun, a higher chance for wet loose snow avalanches to occur at and below treeline on sunny aspects throughout the La Sal and Abajo Mountain ranges. |
type | aspect/elevation | characteristics |
---|
Above treeline
Near treeline
Below treeline
|
|
description
It is hard to give the green light on persistent slabs this early in the season. The snow pack structure still has the potential for slab avalanche activity and there are plenty of trigger points that may initiate and propagate energy through buried weak layers that could be affected by the weight of a backcountry traveler. Although natural avalanche activity is unlikely, human triggered avalanches are still possible. |
weather Today: Sunny, with a high near 43. North northeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west in the afternoon. |
general annoucements The Friends of the La Sal Avalanche Center are an important partner to the Utah Avalanche Center-Moab. They assist by providing field observers, maintaining weather stations and purchase weather and safety equipment. Go to our partners website at www.moabavalanche.org to donate today. The Utah Avalanche Center-Moab is on Facebook! Get updates and advisories by becoming a friend today. |