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 Thursday, March 30th at 7:30am. This advisory will expire in 24 hours.

 

CHECK OUT OUR NEW GROOMING EQUIPMENT HERE. Check out photos of a large avalanche in Dorry Canyon here.

 

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%.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 25. South southwest wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Friday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 43. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to between 15 and 20 mph.
Friday Night: A 40 percent chance of snow showers after 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low near 26. South southwest wind between 10 and 15 mph

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Weather Station/ Location

Snow Depth (HS):  in./cm

New Snow (HN) in./cm

7:00 a.m. Temp (F)

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

Geyser Pass

85” est.

 

N/a 

Settled Powder

Gold Basin and South Mountain

67” /171 cm

10-12” new

n/a

 

Pre-Laurel Peak Station (11,705’)

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.