Moab Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Dave Medara

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Sledders!! Don't block the road at the sled hill. Keep your belongings and car doors out of the travel lanes. It's a road, not your living room. I can't believe I have to say this. The Forest Service has had many complaints, and THE AREA AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SLED HILL MAY BE CLOSED TO PARKING IF INCIDENTS THERE CONTINUE. Don't blow it. Tell someone else and get this area sorted.


BOTTOM LINE

Danger by aspect and elevation on slopes approaching 35° or steeper.
(click HERE for tomorrow's danger rating)


Danger Rose Tutorial

Pockets of CONSIDERABLEavalanche danger exist. Human triggered avalanches are possible, Particularly on upper elevation E-NE-NW facing slopes. Great skiing and riding out there at the moment as well on the same aspects. Catch 22? Use test slopes and snowpack evaluation techniques before diving in or keep the slope angles below 30 degrees.


CURRENT CONDITIONS

The snow has settled out significantly over the week and the avalanche hazard is calming down down. But man, Those winds...Good skiing and Riding can still be found on E-NE-NW facing slopes but There is definitely some wind affected snow up high. Cold temperatures and cloud cover are also keeping sunny side slopes in decent shape but you can feel a crust in there from last Wednesday's warm temps. We've had 22" of in the last 10 days and we're maintaining right around 100% of normal snowpack. We have just over 50" of snow on the ground at our Geyser Pass Study plot.

Roads to Geyser Pass and Dark Canyon trailheads are plowed.

LUNA groomed into Geyser Pass Road, Gold Basin and the Lower Nordic loops are groomed. The southern part of the Upper Nordic loop has also been groomed. Good Job groomers!


RECENT ACTIVITY

Lot's of class 1 point release activity in GOLD BASIN noted of late, but nothing significant.

If you see an avalanche, experience a collapse or a whumpf, have anything interesting to pass on, or just want to spray about the ski conditions, let us know here. ANYobservations are very helpful.


THREAT #1

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 48 hours.

Link to the U.S. Avalanche danger scale here: utahavalanchecenter.org/education/dangerscale

We've just come off a pretty big wind event from the south that is going to keep the hazard in CONSIDERABLErange for the time being. Our wind site was down for a few days but 70 MPH winds in the San Juans tell the story. Probably blew harder over here. For that reason we are keeping pockets of CONSIDERABLE hazard in danger rating on E-NE-NW facing slopes steeper than 30 degrees. Expect to find a MODERATEdanger elsewhere. High Relative Humidity values almost guarantee effective wind loading and there was plenty of new snow to blow around. There are buried weak layers of surface hoar and near surface facets in the snowpack below the 22" of new snow we've received lately and it may be possible to trigger an avalanche with the weight of a skier or snowmachine. Declining hazard yes, but we're not over this dangerous period yet. Weak layers buried in the snowpack like this are notoriously slow to heal.


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

Mountain Weather for SE Utah at 10,000 ft:

Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 28. East southeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 14. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming east southeast. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 30. East southeast wind around 10 mph becoming west southwest. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 18. North northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 40. Calm wind becoming north northwest around 5 mph. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 23. Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 40.


GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Lost at Geyser Pass Trailhead. Black Life LInk ski poles with red baskets. If found please call 435-636-3363


This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done.  This advisory is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.


This advisory provided by the USDA Forest Service, in partnership with:

The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, Utah Division of State Parks and Recreation, Utah Division of Emergency Management, Salt Lake County, Salt Lake Unified Fire Authority and the friends of the La Sal Avalanche Center. See our Sponsors Page for a complete list.