Road Conditions: Grand County plowed the road and parking lot on Monday. The surface is down to the dirt and will be muddy later in the day.
Grooming: LUNA packed out trails on Sunday but things were still a bit rough. A couple inches of snow have fallen since then.
UAC operating schedule - We will continue issuing regular avalanche forecasts into mid April.
Spring Awareness Campaign - The UAC counts on donations from the backcountry community. We know these are uncertain times and any
donation during our awareness campaign will help us continue providing avalanche forecasting and education.
CDC Guidelines - Even in the backcountry and in parking lots, please follow CDC guidelines like limiting group size and keeping a distance of at least 6 feet from other people to protect yourself and others. Read the guidelines
HERE.
Taking risks - Be extra conservative to avoid the risk of accidents which can stress the capacity of our medical system.
24 Hour Snow 0" Weekly Snow 12" Base Depth in Gold Basin 66" Wind SW 5-15 Temp 18F
Weather: An elongated trough currently stretching across the Great Basin will bring us a chance for a few inches of snow today. SW winds will blow in the 15-20 mph range with gusts as high as 30, and daytime high temps will be in the mid 20's. Brief ridging will bring mostly sunny skies to the area tomorrow followed by another weak system late Sun into Monday.
Snowpack: Not much has changed. Recent and wind drifted snow has piled up on a fragile snowpack that in many areas is comprised largely of weak, sugary, faceted snow. Weak snow can be found on all aspects but the weakest snow exists on northerly facing slopes right around treeline and below. Alpine areas generally have a deeper and stronger snowpack, especially out in the middle of concave bowls. However, slope margins, wind-swept areas, and areas right around rocks, cliffs, or sub-ridges have a much thinner snowpack. Weak, faceted snow exists in these areas. The recent spate of natural and human triggered avalanches in the alpine have included areas of wind drifted snow that have propagated into areas with weak, faceted snow.
The San Juan Mountains experienced a round of natural activity yesterday brought on by strong southerly winds. Many slides broke into old, weak snow, just like this large natural avalanche that occurred in
Red Snow Cirque last Saturday. With a similar snowpack structure over here, we need to be continually aware of the potential for this type of avalanche.
