US Forest Service Manti-La Sal National Forest

 Introduction:  Good afternoon, this is Dave Medara with the USFS Manti-La Sal Avalanche Center with your avalanche and mountain weather advisory.  Today is Monday, Dec. 25th, at 4:00 PM. 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. 

 

We still have room in our AIARE level I avalanche class here in Moab scheduled for Jan 5th – 7th. Best deal in the USA! Call 435-636-3363 for more details.

 

  

General Conditions:

The best bet for the day after Christmas is to stay on the roads. The grooming team will be up tomorrow and lay down a fresh new batch of Corduroy. Our tour in to Gold Basin three days ago revealed major wind stripping of the snowpack, rotten snow and dangerously thin snow cover. The snow will not have gotten any better since as the winds are up again today above treeline.  Folks are finding some decent turns below treeline in areas that are less wind affected by the wind. Take it easy out there if you get of the roads and trails, though, it’s pretty bony. We’re currently at about 90% of normal snowpack on the season. There is a chance of snow in the forecast so keep your fingers crossed. We need it after the wind damage out there.

 

 The road to the Geyser Pass Trailhead is plowed but there are some drifts that will require a high clearance vehicle. 4wd recommended.

 

There are groomed skate and classic trails for cross-country skiers up and over Geyser Pass at the moment. Most extensive grooming to date. Check it out. Have fun!

 

Mountain Weather: (At 10,500’) –

Tonight...Partly cloudy. Lows 15 to 25.
Tuesday...Partly cloudy. Highs in the 30s. South winds 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night...Mostly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of snow after midnight. Lows 15 to 25. South winds 10 to 15 mph.
Wednesday...Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow. Highs in the 30s. South winds 10 to 15 mph. Gusts up to 30 mph in the morning.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Weather Station/ Location

Snow Depth (HS):  in./cm

New Snow (HN) in./cm

3:00 p.m. Temp (F)

Current Observations:  Wind, 48 hour snow

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

20.0”

0

43 (warm in the sun!)

Need more!

Geyser Pass

30”

 0

N/a 

Rotten, punchy snow

Gold Basin and South Mountain

28.0”

0

n/a

POWDER over sugar

Pre-Laurel Peak Station (11,705’)

N/a 

N/a 

22.5

28 mph from NNW

 

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

 

Not much new out there in Avalanche land to report. There is evidence of some avalanche activity in Horse Creek and Gold Basin in the 11 – 12000 ft elevation range that had run closer to the snowfall event a week or so ago. What you’ll see is evidence of wind. We’ve had two major wind events since the last storm, and as a result the upper elevations have been stripped of snow, with slabs of snow being built up farther down slope than normal. We had to get down pretty far into our run the other day before we hit soft powder, and when we did, we didn’t like the sound or feel of it. We stayed really close to the ridge and played a very conservative game on the way down. The snow sounded very hollow and we had easy failures in our snowpit tests. Right now we are calling the avalanche danger MODERATE, meaning that human triggered avalanches are possible. There are still some stiff wind slabs out there. The weather forecast is for unsettled weather over the SW for the next few days with small amounts of precipitation possible. We’ll update this message Thursday or sooner if conditions change.