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 Tuesday, January 16th,at 8:00 AM. 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:

Some decent powder conditions for skiing are being reported from Gold Basin, but the areas of coverage are very limited and scouring of many of the usual runs in Gold Basin is widespread. Showoff, Gold Miner’s and the Funnel are stripped of snow to the point that they are unskiable at this time. Coverage for snow machines is limited too as there is inconsistent coverage with variable supportability and poor groundcover. We really need more snow in the La Sal mountains at this time. We are limping along at about 70 percent of normal. Next chance for snow looks like this coming weekend. Good luck finding good snow out there and heads up, still lots of ground hazards.

 

The road to the Geyser Pass Trailhead is plowed and in great shape.  

 

The groomers have been busy and the trail over Geyser Pass and into Gold Basin has been buffed nicely for classic and skate skiing.   

 

Mountain Weather: (At 10,500’) –

Today...Mostly sunny. Highs in the 20s.
Tonight...Partly cloudy. Lows zero to 10 above. South winds 10 to 15 mph after midnight.
Wednesday...Partly cloudy. Highs in the 20s. South winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph in the morning becoming light.
Wednesday Night...Mostly clear. Lows 5 below zero to 5 above.
Thursday...Partly cloudy. Highs 25 to 35.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

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

15

Need more snow

Geyser Pass

35”

 0

N/a 

Rotten, punchy snow

Gold Basin and South Mountain

35”

0

N/a

POWDER over sugar

Pre-Laurel Peak Station (11,705’)

N/a 

N/a 

6.5

27 mph from ENE

 

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

 

This may be the one of the most boring years in the history of the La Sals. Winds and low snowfalls have created a very pockety and variable snowpack out there characterized by rotten faceted crystals, hard slabs, re-crystallized powder, grass and talus. It is possible to find some good skiing out there and it will also be possible to trigger and avalanche out there too. Big winds would be the culprit here with localized areas of wind deposition forming rounded pillows of slabby snow. The danger here will not be widespread, indeed, many areas in the La Sals don’t even have enough snow to slide. We are calling the Avalanche Danger in the La Sal Mountains right now MODERATE, meaning that natural avalanches are unlikely, but human triggered avalanches are possible. If you trigger a hard wind slab in the La Sals right now, the hazard will not feel very moderate. These pockets are likely to be at and above treeline or in open areas affected by wind. With variable winds over the lest several days exactly what aspect you may find these pockets on is questionable, just beware of rounded, hard, possibly hollow sounding deposits of snow in steep areas. Like always, don’t trust the La Sals. We’ll update this message by Friday afternoon.