Geyser Pass Road Conditions: The road is a mix of dry dirt down low with sections of packed snow and ice up high. All wheel drive and good tires are recommended.
Grooming: Trails were last groomed a week ago. Rain and recent cold temperatures have hardened the surface.
Friday, January 30 - Saturday, January 31 - Moab Backcountry 101 Class - Our annual local backcountry avalanche class. Click here for information and registration. Moab and Monticello locals can use the discount code MOAB-LOCAL for a 10% discount.
24 Hour Snow: 0" 72 Hour Snow: 1" Season Total Snow: 22" Depth at Gold Basin: 11"
Winds on Pre-Laurel Peak: N/A Temp: 16° F
Weather
Our last chance for snow blew on by leaving only a trace in its wake. A low pressure system and associated cold front dropping down from the north will bring cold temperatures and frigid winds blowing out of the northwest to the mountains today. Winds started picking up overnight and are blowing in the 30 mph range with gusts as high as 50 mph down on Abajo Peak. Skies will be mostly sunny today with high temperatures at 10,000 feet of around 20°F. Monday will be slightly warmer and less windy. We'll see dry air and a general warming trend with a return to above normal temperatures by mid-week.
General Conditions
I can't sum it up any better than Dave, "the skiing is about as bad as it gets right now." For the gritty details see his observation from Friday. With a snowpack at 49% of normal and rain on Christmas to over 11,000 feet it's beyond rugged out there. I took a trip down to the Abajos yesterday where there is a similar snowpack and I found shallow conditions, bare solar aspects, and a heavily rimed and rain crusted snow surface. Venturing up to Abajo Peak to de-rime the wind station felt like a trip to Ice Station Zebra on the North Pole. Snow below the crusted surface is faceted through to the ground and like the La Sals, average depths where there is snow cover range from about 6 inches at 9000 feet to around 20 inches above 11,000 feet.
Rimed wind station on Abajo Peak. Pre-Laurel no doubt looks the same. I'll be heading up there tomorrow to take care of it.
In the video below, Dave discusses the state of the snowpack and the Christmas rain crust.
Snowpack and Weather Data
And finally, in case you're living in a bubble and thought we were all alone in this, the screenshot below is of SNOTEL sites throughout the west. Red indicates below 50% of normal snowpack. The only places that are at average or slightly better are the Tetons in Wyoming, parts of Idaho and Montana, and as of only recently, the Sierra that just got pounded over Christmas.
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