BOTTOM LINE
Danger by aspect and elevation on slopes approaching 35° or steeper.
(click HERE for tomorrow's danger rating)
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Danger Rose Tutorial
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The Bottom Line for today will be an avalanche danger of CONSIDERABLE on wind-loaded and cross-loaded slopes greater than 35 degrees on all aspects and elevations. A CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger means there are dangerous avalanche conditions. Expert snowpack evaluation, cautious route finding and conservative decision-making is essential.
Please do not let "powder fever" or powder scarcity lure you into bad decision making. Two individuals have already perished within the past week in Utah. Respect the gravity of the danger, and allow the snowpack to heal this weekend. |
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CURRENT CONDITIONS |
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Wednesday night's storm brought another 8" (20 cm) of snow to the Gold Basin Study plot, bringing the base up to 54" (135 cm) at 10,000'. The Geyser Pass Winter Trailhead has 32", while down in the Abajo mountains there is a whopping 62" of snow on the ground.
Great skiing and riding conditions exist in the backcountry and temperatures rose above freezing at 9600' for five hours Friday afternoon. Nordic and skate skiing conditions are primo as well. LUNA volunteers spent an extrordinary amount of time grooming the entire track Friday, back into world-class shape. Thanks to Matt and Mark, you rock! Moonlight ski anyone?
San Juan County is still digging out...and have yet to plow the road to the trailhead. 4WD is a must and the single lane road could pose some logistical problems for people. Please be courteous and keep your speeds down. |
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RECENT ACTIVITY |
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Mother Nature, unfortunately, did not give us many signs of instability today and blankets of snow sit unfettered on very appetizing slopes. Our apparently inocuous looking mountain ranges are still able to have large, sizeable avalanches. Last week's storm ripped out the lower part of Horse Creek and some sizable slides in Talking Mountain Cirque. Any other past avalanche activity is covered by our new snow. |
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THREAT #1 |
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PROBABILITY |
SIZE |
TREND |
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Over the next
24 hours.
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A poor snowpack structure is currently plaguing our mountains. Depth hoar and buried near surface facets are waiting for a new load (READ: YOU) to be applied and initiate and propagate deadly avalanches. Telluride reported slides on West through Southwest slopes, and monstrous slides have been unintentionally triggered in the Wasatch by two UAC forecasters. Do not test your luck this weekend. |
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THREAT #2 |
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PROBABILITY |
SIZE |
TREND |
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Over the next
24 hours.
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Friday's warm up in the lower elevations will happen again and Saturday will start to produce some wet point releases. As the next storm appoaches, cloud cover may limit the potential late in the day. |
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MOUNTAIN WEATHER |
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Saturday: Patchy fog before 10am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 36. East southeast wind around 5 mph becoming west northwest. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 16. West northwest wind around 5 mph becoming southeast. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Sunday: A 50 percent chance of snow. Cloudy, with a high near 26. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming west southwest. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. New snow accumulation of around an inch possible.
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GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS |
The Annual AIARE Level I class in the La Sal mountains, scheduled for February 5th-7th is filling up. Call 435-636-3363 to reserve your spot. |
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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. |
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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. |
