Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Moab Area Mountains Issued by Eric Trenbeath for Saturday - April 5, 2014 - 7:30am
special announcement

The Utah Avalanche Center Moab has quit posting advisories for the 2013-2014 season. In the spring time, there are a few things to be aware of that will cause the avalanche danger to rise:

1) NEW SNOW especially if accompanied by wind. New snow won't always bond well to the abundant slick surfaces out there that have formed in the spring time. Be alert to the usual signs of instability within the new snow such as cracking or collapsing, or smooth, rounded pillows that indicate recent deposits of wind drifted snow. Even without wind, loose snow sluffs can run far and fast on the smooth, underlying bed surface.

2) RAPID WARMING Anytime the sun comes out this time of year, it begins to affect the snow surface almost immediately. Sun on new snow causes the danger for wet avalanche activity to rise rapidly. On warm, sunny days, be alert to the signs of rising wet slide danger such as roller balls, pin wheels, wet sluffing, or if you find yourself wallowing around in sloppy snow, it is time to get off of, and out from under steep terrain.

3) NO OVERNIGHT REFREEZE The lack of overnight freezes can cause the entire snowpack to become unstable, especially with the amount of weak, faceted snow that still exists near the ground. This scenario can produce large wet slab avalanches that break to the ground. So watch your overnight temperatures and make sure there are solid re-freezes before seeking out the big lines!

I wish to thank the community for all their support, and for all the help with observations the season. Hope to see you all out and about next year!

La Sal Mountains Winds and temperature on Pre-Laurel Peak (11,705')

Temperature and new snow totals in Gold Basin (10,050')

Total snow depth and temperature near Geyser Pass Trailhead (9850')

Abajo Mountains

Winds and temperature on Abajo Peak.

Snow totals at Camp Jackson (8968')