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, December 25th at 8:30 a.m. This advisory will expire in 24 hours.

 

WE ARE STARTING TO FILL UP OUR AIARE LEVEL 1 AND LEVEL 2 CLASSES BEING HELD IN THE LA SALS THIS YEAR.  THE LEVEL 1 IS FEBRUARY 3RD-5TH (FRI-SUN), WHILE OUR LEVEL 2 IS MARCH 3RD-6TH  (FRI-MON).  CALL (435) 636-3363 FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO SIGN UP.  EACH CLASS IS LIMITED TO 12 STUDENTS.  TUITION GOES DIRECTLY TOWARDS THE FRIENDS OF THE MANTI-LA SAL AVALANCHE CENTER.

 

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 seems that the best bet for winter recreational opportunities in the La Sal Mountains for Christmas Day will be limited to sledding and cross country skiing on the road and trails. There is a lot of ground hazard out there and punji stakes in wooded areas so heads up! Conditions for classic cross-country and skate skiing on the roads are excellent as well as the snowmobiling on the roads. But be warned, Backcountry skiing conditions are really bad, and the cover is extremely thin for both snowmobiling or backcountry ski touring unless you’re a true diehard.

            Santa Claus had a really long list this year with some folks that really needed some gifts around the world but he emailed the office to say that the gift he was going to give the skiers of Moab was on its way…just a little belated.  He also wanted to pass along some of us are still sitting on the naughty/nice fence.  If we really want a good dump, we might want to be good little ski bums and wash our cars and burn old skis.    

 

Current Conditions: (click location for latest data)

Geyser Pass Trailhead (9,600’):  4.8” at the SNOTEL. 12” on the stake at the Geyser Pass Trailhead.  It is 31 degrees out at 7:00 a.m. 

Gold Basin and South Mountain:  18” of settled snow on the ground. 

Pre-Laurel Peak Weather Station (11,705’):  Back to the drawing board on this one.  Is there a Campbell Scientific Weather Station Professional in our mix here in Moab? 

 

Mountain Weather: (At 10,500’)

Christmas Day: Mostly sunny, with a high near 45. South southwest wind between 10 and 15 mph.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 22. West southwest wind around 15 mph.
Monday: A 30 percent chance of snow after noon. Cloudy, with a high near 40. Breezy, with a southwest wind between 15 and 25 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph.
Monday Night: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a low near 13. Breezy, with a west southwest wind between 15 and 25 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 7 inches possible.

 

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

For those who really dare to go out there…. Here is the avi report. As one might expect, on all the shady aspects, East thru NW facing there is extremely weak snow on the ground with a depth of anywhere from 8” to 24” or so. There are some higher density wind slabs on top of this weak faceted snow in some areas, particularly above tree line or in otherwise wind affected areas. On SE thru West facing slopes expect to find a collections of sun crusts, wind crusts and weak faceted snow, grass and rocks, all with-in a 6-12” layer of snow. There may be some supportable crusts to ski out there on wind packed ridgelines, but make sure you’re on your rock skis.

 These conditions make for a pretty negligible avalanche hazard throughout most of the range except on steep E thru NW facing slopes where weak, unconsolidated snow could accumulate into a loose snow avalanche or some odd pocket of wind slab hasn’t broken down into faceted snow yet. The BOTTOM Line is a MODERATE hazard on high elevation East through NW facing slopes and LOW hazard throughout the majority of the range