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, January 5th, 2006 at 9:00 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 TO 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:

If you haven’t figured out where you lived yet, let me give you a hint…the desert.  The snow we received on January 1st will be the only snow we’ll see fall from the sky for quite a while.  The entire desert Southwest will be seeing a warming trend for the next week with all moisture staying mostly to the North and West of us.  The snow up on the ground is great for snowmobiling if you stay on packed roads.  Otherwise, you might be spending a good part of the day digging out of the sugar snow near the ground.  If you don’t lose your momentum on a machine, you should be O.K. 

            The road to the Geyser Pass Trailhead has been plowed, although 4WD and chains could make your chances of reaching the trailhead greater.  The skate skiing and Nordic skiing is still going to be the best bet for exercise today, as the backcountry skiing conditions are still marginal.  We still need a good solid snowfall to cover most of the obstacles still present in the backcountry. 

 

Current Conditions: (click location for latest data)

Geyser Pass Trailhead (9,600’):  11.0” at the SNOTEL.  17” at the GPTH Snowstake, 30 degrees at the Geyser Pass trailhead at 6:00 a.m.  20 degrees in Moab.

Gold Basin and South Mountain:  At least 24” of settled snow on the ground.

Pre-Laurel Peak Weather Station (11,705’):  Is there a modem master in our mix?  We need your help!  Still down, although we have isolated the problem. 

 

Mountain Weather: (At 10,500’)

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 36. North northeast wind between 10 and 15 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 24. Northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high around 44. West wind between 5 and 15 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low near 25. Breezy, with a southwest wind between 15 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

 

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

Observations yesterday confirmed that there was a large avalanche cycle due to the wind event on the 2nd and 3rd.  Avalanches on North through East aspects were observed above, at and below treeline.  These avalanches failed on the depth hoar layer and slid to the ground.  The natural avalanche cycle has ended and now the chance of triggered avalanches in these areas are possible.  Not every steep Northeast-North-Northwest slope has failed in the last avalanche cycle, in fact only a small percentage did.  This means that in areas that did not avalanche and “flush out” the depth hoar crystals in the lower snow pack, the danger of triggering these slopes is still there.  The BOTTOM LINE for today will be an avalanche danger of MODERATE on steep E-NE-N-NW slopes greater than 35 degrees and at all elevations.  Be especially careful wind-deposited slopes on these aspects.  The wind blew so hard for the past couple of days that wind slabs can be found in the trees as well.