Introduction:
Good morning, this is Dave Medara with the CHECK OUT OUR NEW GROOMING
EQUIPMENT HERE. Check out photos of a large avalanche in 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 was Windy and Wild when I drove
down from the mountain yesterday afternoon and snowing hard. As of 3:00 PM we
had received 3.5” of new snow at the GPTH and 4.5” of new snow in Gold Basin
and it was snowing more than an inch an hour during my white-knuckle drive
off the mountain. We have now received 1.1” of water with this storm and
10-12” of new snow (2.1” of water in the Abajos!). Exact totals are tough as
high winds until midnight have moved around a lot of snow. Expect thick
powder conditions on the mountain today on all aspects, with lighter snow
near the surface. With lighter density snow falling at the end of the storm,
the winds letting up, and temperatures dropping, conditions for skiing and
riding will be PRIMO. Forget about skate skiing for a while…. The Grand
County Road Department is planning on going up on the mountain today, so a
late start may prove advantageous. Expect rowdy conditions if you go up before
them. Mountain Weather: (At 10,500’) – Today: Scattered snow showers, mainly after 11am. Partly cloudy,
with a high near 36. Northwest wind around 10 mph becoming southwest. Chance
of precipitation is 30%. |
Weather Station/ Location |
Snow Depth (HS):
in./cm |
New Snow (HN) in./cm |
|
Current Observations:
Wind, 48 hour snow |
Geyser
Pass Trailhead (9,600’): (snotel link) |
50” |
10-12”, 1.1” h20 |
22 |
10-12 inches new, tough to measure w/ high winds |
|
85” est. |
|
N/a |
Settled Powder |
|
67” /171 cm |
10-12” new |
n/a |
|
N/a |
N/a |
12 degrees @ 0700 |
Major wind from
the south until midnight, Light Northwesterly @ 0700 |
Avalanche Conditions: (Link to the
International Avalanche Danger Scale here)
– We’ve reached the Red Flag value of an
inch of water in the La Sals and the Abajos, which measured at 9,800 ft, is
usually about 40 percent less than we’ll see on the upper reaches of the
mountains. We’ve also had significant winds for most of the last 48 hours
until around midnight last night.
These two factors alone, looking only at the basics of snow behavior,
are enough to prompt us to raise the avalanche danger to HIGH in the La Sal and Abajo Mountains. On the positive side, the snow is
“right side up”, meaning it is denser at the bottom and lighter near the snow
surface. This is a positive indicator for both snow stability and riding
conditions. You can’t argue with snow and winds like we’ve had though, so be
careful if you are heading into terrain steeper than 30 degrees. Look for
clues indicating instability: recent avalanching, cracking, or slabs of dense
thick snow. If you see any of these, avoid steep terrain and be cool, wait
for another day. If the sun pops out today and things get warm, get off solar
slopes and think about wet slides. It’s that time of year. We will update this message by
Saturday morning. Thanks for checking in. |