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 Sunday, January 8th, 2006 at 8:00 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:

The NWS is calling for a chance of snow today but I’m willing to bet we won’t see anything out of the system passing to our N. right now. Conditions remain unchanged in the La Sals with a mixture of sun crusts, wind slabs and sastrugi above treeline. Conditions below treeline aren’t much better as the rotten base makes for very tricky conditions in the powder for skiing, boarding or snowmobiling out there. The best ride out there is still on the packed out roads and trails of the La Sals. The cross-country and skate skiing are excellent

            The road to the Geyser Pass Trailhead has been plowed, although 4WD and chains could make your chances of reaching the trailhead greater.  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, 22 degrees at the Geyser Pass trailhead at 7:00 a.m.  14 degrees in Moab.

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

Pre-Laurel Peak Weather Station (11,705’):  First information of the year!  Winds are out of the west at 10-20 mph.  Temperature is 24 degrees.  We’re not online with the information yet but stay tuned. Thank you Ed Grote for your assistance!

 

Mountain Weather: (At 10,500’)

Today: A 20 percent chance of snow. Partly cloudy, with a high around 36. Northwest wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 10. North northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high around 31. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.

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

Observations this week 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 but the possibility of a human triggered avalanche still remains. 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.

 

You can also get this message by calling 435-259-7669