Manti-La Sal Avalanche Center

US Forest Service Manti-La Sal National Forest

Introduction: Good Morning! This is Max Forgensi with the USFS Manti-La Sal Avalanche Center with your avalanche and mountain weather advisory. Today is Friday, December 10th, 2004 at 7:30 a.m.

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:

Yesterday the clouds that were sitting over the La Sals kept the temperatures colder than they would have without cloud cover. The Geyser Pass Trailhead saw a high of 35 degrees yesterday, much different than the warm temps we experienced in town. The clouds allowed the snow to stay in pretty good shape without having the sun play havoc to the snow in the form of sun-crusts or heavy powder. That is going to change! We are at the doorstep of a persistent high-pressure system that decided to center itself over the CO/UT border. Expect clear skies and warmer temperatures for the next 5 days. Today might be a good day to go out and farm some of that powder in the mountains before it changes.

Current Conditions: (click location for latest data)

Geyser Pass Trailhead (9,600’): 26 degrees out with 26”-33” on the ground.

Pre-Laurel Peak (11,700’): 6:00 am temperature is 18 degrees, with winds out of the NNE at 15 mph, gusting to 21.

Gold Basin has about 40-46” of settled snow on the ground.

Mountain Weather: (At 10,500’)

Today: Partly cloudy, High near 36. Winds will be out of the Northwest at 5-10 mph.

Tonight: Clear. Low near 19. Winds will start out of the NNW at 5-10 mph, then change to the SSW

Saturday: Sunny. High near 36, Low near 20. Winds will be out of the SW at 10 mph.

Avalanche Conditions:

Today the greatest concern will be with wind effected areas above treeline. For the past 72 hours, the winds have generally been out of the Northeast, although they have switched around a bit from time to time. The fact is…most of the transport winds (greater than 15 mph) have been out of the Northeast. The good news is that the relative humidity is pretty low, due to our friend the Red Rock Desert, which has made it possible for the snow to sublimate into the atmosphere more than it is transporting onto leeward slopes. There will be some wind transport though- and what you should look out for today are areas that have consistent wind slabs on slopes greater than 35 degrees. These will have formed on slopes SW-S, and could be on the lee side of any exposed ridge. Another note, recent avalanches have started significantly farther down an avalanche path than at the top of their start zones. The strong winds have loaded slopes much farther down than usual. Take this into consideration, and always reevaluate the slope as you proceed. For today, I am going to rate the avalanche danger is MODERATE. A MODERATE danger level means that a natural avalanche is unlikely, while human-triggered avalanches are still possible.

Nordic and Skate Skiing:

An enjoyable day for you classic Nordic skiers with just a little bit of new snow to break trail in. Skate skiing will be compromised due to the fact the track is not very wide and the new snow.