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, March 19th at 8am. This advisory will expire in 24 hours.

 

The Lasaloppet, an 18-k Nordic race in the La Sal Mountains, is scheduled for Saturday, March 25th, 2006.  Please call McKay Edwards at (801) 588-0911 or [email protected] form more information. 

 

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.

Please give us your observations from the field HERE.  The more observations we get, the better this forecast can be. 

 

  

General Conditions:

It looks like the majority of the snowfall from this current storm is passing to our east, returning to our season long pattern of being missed by storms and not reaching forecasted amounts. You can say oh well, because there is still some excellent skiing in the La Sal and Abajo mountains right now. South facing slopes are holding corn snow, although clouds have altered the regularity of the melt-freeze cycles. North facing open slopes (not in the trees!) are holding excellent powder in most places below treeline. Above treeline, there has been some wind damage. Conditions are supportable for skiing and riding in most areas and the trap door into the old rotten snow is mostly covered by the strong bridge of last week’s storm. Skate skiing is happening again as preparations for the LaSalloppet have begun and the snow cat has been working the trails. The road to the Geyser Pass Trailhead is plowed and in good shape.

  Mountain Weather: (At 10,500’)SNOW ADVISORY THRU 6:00 PM SUNDAY

Today: Periods of snow showers, mainly between 11am and 5pm. Some thunder is also possible. High near 33. Southwest wind between 5 and 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
Tonight: Snow likely, mainly before
5am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 18. West northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
Monday: A 40 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 30. West northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Monday Night: A 50 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low near 16. Southwest wind between 5 and 10 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

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

Geyser Pass Trailhead (9,600’): (snotel link)

52” 

trace

16

tr

Geyser Pass

200+ cm

0

N/a 

tr 

Gold Basin and South Mountain

76”/190 cm

0

n/a

tr

Pre-Laurel Peak Station (11,705’)

N/a 

N/a 

24

20-30 mph from the SE, declining 

 

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

 

The new snow from last week has settled down into a bridge that has added a lot of strength to the snowpack. Skiing on N. facing slopes is excellent. Skiing on S. facing slopes is excellent. We are finally getting some good skiing in SE Utah. There are still areas of weak snow underlying the bridge though, and if you are able to trigger something in the La Sals it is likely to be very deep and nasty. There was not a lot of avalanche activity associated with this storm, but a few of the avalanches that did release were formidable.  Approach steep NE-NW facing slopes with caution. Take a look at the snowpack. Thinner, weaker snowpack areas are likely trigger points. Keep in the back of your mind that an avalanche IS possible on slopes steeper than 30 degrees in the La Sals. Danger areas are NE-NW facing slopes in the near treeline elevations and areas above treeline that have been loaded by recent South winds. On the sunny side slopes, be aware of the effects of temperature and solar radiation and be prepared to call it a day or move to less sunny slopes if and when things get sloppy. Today’s Bottom line: The avalanche danger on E-NW facing slopes is MODERATE W/ Pockets of CONSIDERABLE above treeline elevations. On the sunny side slopes, expect the avalanche danger to start off LOW and progress to MODERATE if things warm up today.  We’ll update this message tomorrow morning, thanks for checking in.