Moab Avalanche Advisory

Forecaster: Dave Medara

BOTTOM LINE

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


Danger Rose Tutorial

Click here to see the newly revised North American Avalanche Danger Scale.

Impressive snow totals across SE Utah with the La Sals amassing 30 inches of new snow. HIGHavalanche danger exists in the mountains of SE Utah at this time on all slopes steeper than 30 degrees on all aspects. High winds last night will keep the avalanche danger up. Great skiing and riding will be found on shady slopes below treeline and on SE facing slopes as well that didn't catch the sun yesterday as badly as low elevation SW facing slopes. Have a great time but keep the slope angles down.


CURRENT CONDITIONS

Skies finally cleared yesterday and it was a bluebird day with light winds. Beautiful. Winds have come up overnight from the North and East so expect some wind damage to the snow above treeline and in open areas below treeline. Great powder skiing can be found on most aspects below treeline although lower elevation SW - W facing slopes caught a bit of sun yesterday. Another day of settlement should make the deep powder more skiable and even better than it was yesterday. Winds are calming down. Looks like a sweet day in the mountains.

Snow Totals: La Sal SNOTEL 26" snow @ 3.6" H2O,

Gold Basin La Sals 30" SNOW @ 3.9" H2O

Abajo SNOTEL 16" snow @ 1.7 H20 -

On Sunday, the San Juan County Road crew came up and cleared access to both the Geyser Pass Trailhead and the Dark Canyon access on the East Side. You guys ROCK!

Grooming on the La Sal Nordic Track will get started today. With the deep snow, it may be a multi-day process.


RECENT ACTIVITY

Spectacular avalanches in GoldBasin and Horse Creek in the La Sals - Any more?

Widespread class II - III+ activity in:

Noriega's face - Widespread class II activity across face at convexity. Pretty much Wall to wall but low.

Exxon's - Wall to Wall class II+

Tukno NE face - Multiple class II avi's at various elevations above and below cliffs

Tukunikuvatz N Ridge - Small Class II pocket low in Red snow cirque - lot's still hanging.

Middle Cirque - Class III low observer's right, deep class II NE face of TUK see pic HERE.

Horse Creek - Massive class III from Coyote Chute to Laurel Peak. Tough to see actual boundaries.

ABAJOS:

East face of South Peak Small Class II Pocket mid slope.

East Face of Abajo Peak Large class II -III below radio towers


THREAT #1

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 48 hours.

Click here to see the newly revised North American Avalanche Danger Scale.

Keeping the Avalanche Danger rating at HIGH today in the mountains of SE Utah today. We are likely approaching the low end of that rating as time passes but it is no time to experiment on that theory. Many slides have already run but there is still a lot of hangfire. Stability Tests yesterday showed easy shears within the new snow still exist. The high density of the new snow increases the likelihood of slab formation and the winds have come up overnight increasing the likelihood of further drifting and slab formation. Natural and Human triggered avalanches are very likely, so consider this if you decide to head into the Mountains. Please make appropriate terrain choices.


THREAT #2

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 24 hours.

We still have some pretty serious issues with our "old" snow. First is a buried layer of surface hoar that is now about 2-3 feet below the surface of the new snow. This layer continues to be reactive in snowpit tests. Tuesday I dug a lot of pits trying to determine the extent and distribution of the surface hoar layer and found it to be on open NE-NW facing slopes at and below treeline. No surprise there. Unfortunately what I found where the surface hoar layer didn't exist, was a layer of near-surface facets at the same level in the snowpack, that was equally reactive in snowpit tests. Another classic SW snowpack situation. Combine that with depth hoar that is can still be found in the lower third of the snowpack (producing the dramatic collapses still being felt in thinner snowpack areas) and we've got all three of the classic types of persistent weak layers at play in our SE Utah snowpack. As always approach steep slopes with respect here in SE Utah.


THREAT #3

WHERE PROBABILITY SIZE TREND
      Over the next 48 hours.

Winds came up overnight from the North and East. Drifiting snow and slab formation are likely with these winds below upper and mid-elevation ridgelines as there is a large amount of snow available for transport.


MOUNTAIN WEATHER

National Weather Service Forecast for 10,000 Ft. :

Today: Sunny, with a high near 25. Calm wind becoming west southwest around 5 mph. Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 9. West northwest wind around 5 mph becoming east southeast. Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of snow after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 28. South wind between 5 and 10 mph. Wednesday Night: A 50 percent chance of snow. Cloudy, with a low around 17. South wind between 5 and 10 mph. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible. Thursday: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 27. West northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Thursday Night: A 30 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 14. Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 29.


GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

We would like to thank the hard working volunteers at the Friends of the La Sal Avalanche Center. Without their help the center would not meet it's funding or staffing requirements. Thanks all! If you would like more information about donating to the Friends or simply helping out, click here..

This advisory will expire in 48 hours.


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.