US Forest Service Manti-La Sal National Forest

Introduction:  Good Morning this is Dave Medara with the USFS Manti-La Sal Avalanche Center with your avalanche and mountain weather advisory.  Today is Tuesday, January 3rd, 2006 at 8:30 am. 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:

The 5” of snow that fell Saturday night was severely needed and now it’s being blown from south to north by up to 60mph winds. We’ve measured about ten inches of new snow in Gold Basin over the last week and the wind has moved enough snow to the N. Side of the Laurel Highway to result in a large Class 3 avalanche  in upper Horse Creek measuring up to 4feet deep but more impressively, about ¾ of a mile wide. There was other avalanche activity observed in the range yesterday as well, caused by the wind moving around the new snow. Ski conditions are improving, but far from good. There may be some good turns to be had out there on sheltered slopes below treeline but expect wind damage to your favorite powder stash. Hard to tell how much new snow we rec’d last night as the high winds have actually stripped snow from our snowstakes. There is still more snow in the forecast for this morning by I expect it to be tapering off before noon.

The cross country and skate skiing conditions on the Geyser Pass trail are pretty good.

At the time of this report the road to the Geyser Pass Trailhead was unplowed, snowy and slippery. Hopefully it will get plowed today. Stay tuned.

Current Conditions: (click location for latest data)

Geyser Pass Trailhead (9,600’):  15” at the SNOTEL.  19” at the GPTH Snowstake, 25 degrees at the Geyser Pass trailhead at 7:00 a.m.  39 degrees in Moab.

Gold Basin and South Mountain:  At least 28” of settled snow on the ground.

Pre-Laurel Peak Weather Station (11,705’):  Still Struggling with the weather station. Had contact, lost contact. The drama continues with new hardware.

 

Mountain Weather: (At 10,500’)

Today: Periods of snow showers with widespread blowing snow, mainly before noon. High near 35. Windy, with a west southwest wind 25 to 30 mph decreasing to between 10 and 15 mph. Winds could gust as high as 55 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 7 inches possible.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 18. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northwest. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.
Wednesday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 31. North northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.

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

Bumping up yesterday’s danger rating a notch due to continued high winds and the aforementioned avalanche activity. Snowpit profiles show a very unstable snowpack structure out there and these high winds have moved enough snow to tip the balance in some areas, resulting in natural avalanche activity. Expect to find a HIGH avalanche danger on steep E-NE-NW facing slopes above treeline or in wind affected areas. Expect to find a CONSIDERABLE hazard elsewhere in the range, keeping a keen eye out for areas of wind deposition. We saw avalanche activity yesterday that was NOT limited to east and north facing slopes. With winds this strong, it’s hard to predict where cross-loading will occur. What we can expect is the formation of wind slabs, sometimes at elevations lower than we would expect. It’s a fragile snowpack out there folks, so HEADS UP!