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 Thursday, December 8th at 8:00 a.m. 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:

It has been cold, cold, cold! The La Sal Mountains have been locked into a cold air mass since Sunday. After today, you can expect the temperatures to moderate a little bit and see temperatures in the mid to upper 30’s at the Geyser Pass Trailhead. The snow is cold and shallow, and unfortunately we are looking down the barrel of another high pressure system…no snow is in the forecast. The Grand County Road Department has been up to plow this week, I advise that you still bring 4WD and chains.

Current Conditions: (click location for latest data)

Geyser Pass Trailhead (9,600’): 7.20” at the SNOTEL. 5 degrees at the trailhead at 7:00 a.m.

Gold Basin and South Mountain: 14” of settled snow on the ground.

Pre-Laurel Peak Weather Station (11,705’): The weather station is getting a facelift; new radios, antennas and all the instrumentation has been recalibrated. You can thank the Friends of the Manti-La Sal Avalanche Center for this one. Expect the weather station to be up and running in early December.

Mountain Weather: (At 10,500’)

Today...Mostly sunny. Highs in the 20s.
Tonight...Partly cloudy. Lows zero to 10 above.
Friday...Mostly sunny. Highs in the 30s.

Avalanche Conditions: (Link to the International Avalanche Danger Scale here)

Our biggest concern for today and into the foreseeable future will be those steep slopes at or above treeline on E-NW aspects. This is where that weak, rotten, faceted snow has been hiding out through weeks of seemingly unending high pressure. This depth-hoar can and most definitely will fail once there is a significant load deposited on top of them. My feeling is we just haven’t had enough snow to have any real natural activity. The Bottom line for today is going to be MODERATE on those steep, upper elevation Northerly aspects. Any avalanche activity will be localized and be small avalanches that can still be dangerous to anyone caught in them. Rocks, cliffs and trees hurt! The rest of the range will be LOW.