US Forest Service Manti-La Sal National Forest

Introduction: Good morning, this is Max Forgensi with the USFS Manti-La Sal Avalanche Center with your avalanche and mountain weather advisory. Today is Saturday, December 16th, at 6:30AM. This advisory will expire in 24 hours.

CHECK OUT OUR NEW GROOMING EQUIPMENT 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:

The La Sal Mountains have seen windy conditions above treeline for the past 24 hours. Wind speed averages have stayed above 20 and have been out of the South-Southwest. Down below tree-line the winds haven’t surfaced as often although that rouge gust can catch you or your gear by surprise. Warm temperatures have helped settle out the upper snow pack and zipper crusts have formed on West and South aspects. There has been more avalanche activity than our observers have seen the past couple days, read on to the avalanche conditions for more on that subject.

Decent coverage and moderate temperatures have kept back country skiing conditions fair except for on those open Southwesterly slopes that gain the most solar radiation. Be weary of stumps and logs lurking just under the snow and you might hit an occasional rock.

If your looking to go skate skiing, the GROOMED Nordic and Skate Ski trails will be up and running after LUNA’s (Lower Utah Nordic Alliance) volunteer groomer training TODAY!

Mountain Weather: (At 10,500’) –
Today: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 35. Breezy, with a south southwest wind around 25 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph.
Tonight: Snow likely, mainly after 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21. Windy, with a south southwest wind between 25 and 30 mph, with gusts as high as 45 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.
Sunday: Snow likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 21. Windy, with a south southwest wind 25 to 30 mph becoming west northwest 5 to 10 mph. Winds could gust as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.
Sunday Night: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a low around 2. Calm wind becoming north northeast around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

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)	22”		32	55 cm at our Trailhead Study Plot
Geyser Pass	~”	~	~	Powder
Gold Basin and South Mountain	75 cm	~	~	HS has settled 15 cm since last storm
Pre-Laurel Peak Station (11,705’)	N/a	N/a	19.7	25 mph gust 58 out of SW

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

It has been five days since our last storm and temperatures have been creeping over freezing at 9,600’ for the past couple days. Although the winds have been nuking out of the S-SW for the past 24 hours, low relative humidity (50-70%) has driven sublimation instead of transport. We did knock off a shallow wind slab on a West aspect at 10,000’ yesterday heading into Gold Basin. Observations yesterday showed widespread activity in Gold Basin, avalanches starting from the bases of cliffs, trees and below ridges. They failed on East-North-West aspects. They are failing on either the 12/1 surface hoar layer or on depth hoar. There is a medley of conditions out in the La Sals: Cross-Loading in the alpine, buried surface hoar on Northerly aspects, and a shallow continental snowpack to name a few. Although natural avalanches are unlikely today, human triggered avalanches are possible and an Avalanche Danger of MODERATE is warranted. Be especially careful on steep N-E aspects, and at all elevations.

Enjoy the snow and we will update this tomorrow morning.