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 Sunday, January 30^th, 2005 at 7:30 am. This bulletin is sponsored in part by Canyon Voyages, Moab’s finest river running and retail store, proud sponsors of the Friends of the Manti-La Sal Avalanche Center. This advisory will expire in 24 hours.

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:

The cloud cover and lack of any significant wind is continuing to keep the snow up in the La Sal Mountains in pretty good shape. Yesterday there were plenty of people recreating up in the mountains, and today should be another enjoyable day up in the mountains. Yesterday the temperatures peaked over freezing for an hour at the trailhead. On South-West aspects the snow might have settled a bit, but the sun didn’t have much chance to effect it yesterday, although observers said that some Southerly slopes really took a hit from the sun. You still might be able to find some creamy snow on top of a supportable sun crust. On those North aspects, the snow is fast and light. The road to Geyser Pass is plowed, although it could have some icy patches down low.

Current Conditions: (click location for latest data)

Geyser Pass Trailhead (9,600’): 34” at the SNOTEL site with a temperature of 22.6 degrees at 6:00 am.

Pre-Laurel Peak (11,700’): This weather station is really starting to become a pain in my side.

Gold Basin and South Mountain: Around 65” to 75” of settled snow on the ground.

Mountain Weather: (At 10,500’)

A closed low has set itself over the New Mexico/Arizona border, its wrap around moisture affecting the southeastern Colorado and giving us only a slight chance of precipitation.

Today: Snow likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 30. Winds will be out of the Northeast at 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Less than 1” is expected.

Tonight: Partly cloudy. Low near 18. Winds will be out of the ENE at 10-15 mph.

Monday: Partly cloudy. High near 31. Winds will be out of the ENE at 10 mph.

Avalanche Conditions:

La Sal Mountains:

The snow on the ground is slowly settling and becoming more stable. Observations once again pointed to our main concern being on North-East aspects. Before this last storm, the past two weeks of high pressure had changed the snow surface conditions from powder to what are called near-surface-facets; a weak, non-cohesive layer that new snow or wind slabs bond poorly to. Snow pits on these aspects show that there is a poor bond between the new snow and these facets, although the wind has yet to make a slab out of the new snow. There were some pockets of wind/sun-protected slopes that had a buried surface hoar layer as well. The higher in elevation you go, the more new snow sits on these weak layers, aka more stress. Currently I am going to rate the avalanche danger at MODERATE on wind effected slopes on N-E aspects greater than 35 degrees at or above tree line. Be weary of those trigger points, such as rock outcroppings and shallow snow deposits on these aspects, where your pressure can transfer your energy easier into the snow pack! For the rest of the areas, I am going to rate the avalanche danger at LOW.

Nordic and Skate Skiing:

Fresh snow and temperatures in the low 30’s will mean some fun skiing!