The overall avalanche danger is HIGH on the Manti Skyline today. Human-triggered avalanches are certain. To stay safe, the only thing you can do is avoid being on or below steep slopes.
Thursday, 2/19/26 at 6:00 AM MST through 6:00 AM MST Friday, 2/20/26
What: The avalanche danger for the warning area is HIGH today.
Where: The mountains of northern, central, southwestern, and southeastern Utah, including the Abajo Range, as well as southeastern Idaho.
Impacts: Recent heavy snow combined with strong wind is creating widespread areas of unstable snow. Both human-triggered and natural avalanches are likely.
What to do: Avoid all avalanche terrain. Stay off of and out from under slopes steeper than 30°. Carry and know how to use avalanche rescue equipment. Find safer riding conditions on slopes less than 30° with no steep slopes above you.
Weather and SnowGeneral Conditions: It's starting to stack up now. I'm pleased to report that snowfall exceeded my expectations on Wednesday. We picked up 10 to 12" of new snow in the last 24 hours, bringing totals since Monday up to 18". Riding conditions are getting good. Moderate to strong wind from the west continued on Wednesday. It is now slowing down. The cold front moved through midday Wednesday and temperatures have been dropping since then, bottoming out at 0°F this morning.
Recent AvalanchesThe little glimpses I've been seeing suggest we most likely went through some sort of natural avalanche cycle. I spotted a fairly large avalanche Thursday morning in the Little Horseshoe. It was about 300 feet wide and deep enough that I could see the fracture line through a scope from 8 miles away. MORE DETAILS HERE. It is almost guaranteed that other slopes released naturally over the last couple of days.
Now things are real. We've picked up enough new snow to make the avalanche size scary. It is nothing to mess with. The old weak facets are widespread in the mid and upper elevations on the north half of the compass. Including last week's storm, we now have about two feet of snow that has been added on top of the old facets. The wind has drifted in snow much deeper on many slopes. Sizeable natural avalanches have been spotted. I've experienced cracking and collapsing every day that I've been out. It's all there folks. Don't mess with it. Stick to slopes less than 30° in steepness and make sure there are no steep slopes above you. Avalanches can be triggered from a distance right now.
