US
Forest Service
Manti-La Sal
National Forest
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Introduction:
Good Morning, this is Max Forgensi with the THE AMERICAN INSTITUE FOR AVALANCHE RESEARCH AND
EDUCATION (AIARE) LEVEL II CLASS IS SCHEDULED FOR MARCH 3RD-6TH. THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF AIARE, TOM
MURPHY, WILL BE ONE OF THE INSTRUCTORS AT THIS CLASS. THIS WILL BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO
LEARN FROM THE MAN HIMSELF. CALL
(435) 636-3363 FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO SIGN UP. THERE ARE STILL A FEW SPOTS AVAILABLE. 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. Hey
backcountry users, WE NEED YOUR HELP! Click HERE to give us your
observations…ANY OBSERVATIONS!
Do you know how great it would be to get observations from people that
travel to different parts on the mountain range than us? |
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General Conditions: It is
going to be cold up in the La Sal Mountains today. At 6:00 a.m., Moab is at 16 degrees, the Geyser Pass
Trailhead is at 10 degrees and the Pre-Laurel Weather Station is at 4.5
degrees. The strong Northerly
flow will relax tonight as the low pressure system moves off towards the east
coast. The pressure gradient
will decrease between the Low and High pressure system which decrease the
wind speeds throughout the day.
Today you will see gradual warming over the higher terrain while the
warming in the valleys will lag behind due to an inversion. What does this mean? Dress warmly today and bring some
warm fluids with you. The wind
has been blowing consistently out of the North for the past 36 hours at an
average close to 30 miles and hour.
Any snow available for transport has mostly sublimated into the dry
desert atmosphere. Backcountry
conditions will be a mixed bag today with sun crusts on South-West slopes
while the only place you will find any consolidated powder will be in wind/sun
protected Northerly aspects. Above
treeline, you will find little to no snow on south aspects while on north
aspects there is a shallow snowpack.
The
road to the Geyser Pass Trailhead is in great shape. Mountain Weather: (At 10,500’) Today: Sunny,
with a high near 28. Wind chill values between -10 and zero. North northeast
wind between 10 and 15 mph. |
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Weather Station/ Location |
Snow Depth (HS):
in./cm |
New Snow (HN) in./cm |
6:00 a.m. Temp (F) |
Current Observations:
Wind, 48 hour snow |
|
28’’/69 cm |
0” |
19 |
4.4 degrees at 6:00 am |
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|
Geyser Pass |
50”/130 cm |
n/a |
N/a |
~ |
|
|
42”/105cm |
0” |
N/a |
|
|
N/a |
N/a |
4.4 at 6:00 am |
@ 6:00 am: Winds 26 mph, g 40 from N |
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Avalanche Conditions: (Link to the
International Avalanche Danger Scale here) With this high-pressure system
locked in place for the foreseeable future, the avalanche danger has slowly
dropped and a new batch of problems start to arise. We have sun crusts on our South aspects while our North
aspects have been getting hammered by North wind, sublimating most if not all
snow available for transport into the atmosphere. What little snow the mountains held is becoming even
thinner with strong winds and sun.
Although this high pressure has been good for our stability, our weak,
shallow snow pack on North aspects above treeline is going to be our #1
concern. And for the future, how
will new snow bond to the changing snow surfaces and how much weight will the
weak snow pack structure hold before it fails? We’ll see! The BOTTOM LINE for today will be an avalanche danger of MODERATE on North-East
aspects at or above treeline with wind-loaded slopes. Take a look at a snowpit from our tour
on 01/15/06 here. |