AVALANCHE WARNING »
Dangerous avalanche conditions are occuring or are imminent.
Backcountry travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended.
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Notice: We've continued the Avalanche Warning for the Abajo Mountains of SE Utah this morning. We've had up to 2 feet of heavy, dense snow in the Abajos over the last 48 hours and water totals from this storm are topping out at a whopping 5.8 inches.
This new snow has fallen on a very weak layer of old snow creating dangerous avalanche conditions on steep mountain slopes.
Continued heavy snowfall and high winds have pushed the Avalanche Danger Rating to HIGH (LEVEL 4). Large and destructive avalanches are likely to occur over the next few days. Backcountry travelers should avoid all avalanche slopes and runout zones. |
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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT |
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Happy Holidays from Dave and Max at the Avi Center! |
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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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Avalanche Dangers in SE Utah are still critical and the Avalanche Danger Rating remains at HIGH or Level 4 in some areas of SE Utah, especially the Abajo Mountains near Monticello. Low angle skiing is actually quite nice in this dense new snow so it'll be easy to keep the slope angles below 30 degrees! |
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CURRENT CONDITIONS |
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Avalanche Warning for Abajo Mountains continues as the southern lacoliths continue to get staggering amounts of water. More snow overnight in the La Sal mountains as well. Found some great riding and skiing conditions yesterday in the La Sals over on the east side where there was actually more more snow than we've measured on the Moab side. Very deep riding on snow machines but skiers stayed on top in buttery dense snow. Excellent. Major instabilities and high avalanche danger are for real as well however. Snow totals so far:
La Sal Snotel: 12" snow, 2.1" water
Gold Basin (La Sals): 16" snow, 2.4" water - poss. more here but we've lost communication with this site.
Camp Jackson Snotel (Abajos) 124" snow, 5.8" water - possibly some rain here in this mix
Remember folks, it's the water weight, not the snow depth that applies the load that causes avalanching. We are well over critical values for snow slides in both the La Sals and the Abajos.
The road to the Geyser Pass Trailhead was plowed by SJ County on Tuesday and was in good shape yesterday afternoon. Thanks Guys!
Cross-country ski grooming is scheduled for Friday. |
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RECENT ACTIVITY |
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Limited visibility - Geyser roadcuts have slid naturally. |
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THREAT #1 |
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PROBABILITY |
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TREND |
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Over the next
24 hours.
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In areas where winds have deposited the most snow we can expect to find a HIGH (LEVEL 4) avalanche danger. This will certainly be the case in the Abajos where dense snow, and possibly some rain, have added a huge load to the snowpack over the last 72 hours. The most dangerous zones will be steep East through Northeast through Northwest facing slopes at and above treeline. Heads up in North Wash in the Abajos! Elsewhere CONSIDERABLE (LEVEL3) avalanche dangers can be expected. Human triggered avalanches are likely. Be suspect of any slope with wind drifted snow on it steeper than 30 degrees.
Snowpit tests from the La Sals yesterday showed extreme instability with columns collapsing in isolation on faceted crystals at the old/new snow interface. Lot's of cracking and collapsing, and the collapses sounded DEEP. They reverberated on and on like a big thunderclap. They definitely felt like a warning shot over our bow and we listened. |
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THREAT #2 |
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| WHERE |
PROBABILITY |
SIZE |
TREND |
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Over the next
48 hours.
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High winds stacking up stiff slabs over old, faceted snow is a classic SE Utah recipe for long lasting instabilities. Expect the tender situation in SE Utah to last a bit longer than usual with this combo. Just because the avalanche warning has been dropped for the La Sal mountains does not mean it is a green light snowpack situation up there either!
Check out our last snowpit from Sunday here. Coyote Chute - La Sals. Kinda scary. |
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MOUNTAIN WEATHER |
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National Weather Service Forecast for 10,000 feet: Snow tapering off today.
Today: Snow. High near 33. South southeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
Tonight: A 20 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 38. East southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 17. Calm wind becoming east southeast between 5 and 10 mph.
Christmas Day: Mostly sunny, with a high near 39. Calm wind.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 29.
Sunday: Partly sunny and breezy, with a high near 37. |
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GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS |
The LSAC will be offering 2 avalanche classes this year. Our yearly Level 1 class will be held January 28, 29 and 30 of this winter season. The level 1 class focuses on avalanche phenomena, recognition and management of terrain where you might encounter these beasts and basic rescue.
This season, if we can pick up 6 participants, we are also hoping to do a Level 2 class. Tenative dates for the class are February 3-6. It is a 4-day class reviewing the basics covered in level 1, then carrying the subject matter further, exploring snowpack formation, crystal analysis, climactic effects and advanced rescue.
Call 435-636-3363 and speak to Dave or Max for more information or to sign up for one of the classes. |
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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. |
