Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Moab Area Mountains Issued by Eric Trenbeath for Monday - January 23, 2017 - 6:18am
bottom line

The avalanche danger is HIGH in upper elevation, wind drifted terrain and natural and human triggered avalanches are likely. Backcountry travelers should avoid avalanche terrain by staying off of and out from under steep slopes. The danger will be greatest on slopes that have a NW-N-E aspect, but drifting snow and freshly formed wind slabs will be found on all aspects in the wind zone. At mid elevations, the avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE. Stick to sheltered, low angle terrain if you must be out in the mountains today.




special avalanche bulletin

Heavy snowfall and strong winds have created dangerous avalanche conditions in the mountains today. Backcountry travelers need to possess excellent route finding skills. Travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended.

special announcement

Road Conditions: Grand County will be plowing the road today. Expect to find the gate closed by 9:00 a.m. It has not been plowed during this storm cycle and getting up ahead of them is not recommended. It will take several hours to get the road cleared today.

Backcountry 101 Avalanche Class

We will be offering a Backcountry 101 avalanche class on Feb 3, 4. This course will include a night classroom session and a day in the field. Cost is $125 with proceeds to benefit the Utah Avalanche Center Moab. For more information or to sign up go here.
current conditions

Another 10" of snow has fallen in Gold Basin since 3:00 p.m. yesterday with rates of more than 2" an hour since 4:00 a.m. This brings totals up to 33" since Thursday. Winds picked up just ahead of this recent round of snow and have been blowing steady out of the south in the 25-30 mph range with gusts into the 40's. Snow, heavy at times, and strong winds will continue to be the order of the day. It's currently 22 degrees at 10,000' and 16 on Pre Laurel Peak.

Gold Basin snow last 12 hours: 10" Storm totals since Thursday night: 33" Base depth: 82"

Wind, temperature and humidity on Pre Laurel Peak.(11,700')

Storm totals and temperature in Gold Basin.(10,000')

Snow totals, temperature and snow/water equivalent at the Geyser Pass Trailhead. (9600')
recent activity

On Sunday, a party remotely triggered two avalanches on north facing Noriega's face at 10,400. Initiating as a storm slabs, the avalanches fanned out and stepped down into what is likely weak, faceted snow, near rocks in this heavily featured piece of terrain. The two slides ultimately connected taking out the whole face at about 1000' wide.

Slide in green was triggered first from the ridge. Slide in red was triggered second. Unbeknownst to the party, the slides connected below, out of sight beneath steep convexities.


Photo 1: Ed Grote, photo 2: Dave Garcia (note the interface within the slab between the two storm events).
Avalanche Problem 1
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

Strong winds, heavy snowfall, and lots of available snow for transport all translate to dangerous wind slab conditions. Today expect to find deep drifts forming on the lee sides of ridge crests and terrain features in wind exposed terrain. The danger will be greatest on slopes facing the north half of the compass, but with so much snow blowing around, wind slabs will form on all aspects wherever terrain features are able to capture drifting snow.

Avalanche Problem 2
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

Dense new snow has formed a cohesive slab on all aspects at mid an upper elevations and avalanches within the new snow will be likely on slopes approaching 35 degrees.

Avalanche Problem 3
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

Heavy snowfall and wind loading have increased the stress on buried weak layers within the snowpack. Avalanches initiated within the new snow now have the potential to step down into these buried weak layers. In some cases this could mean stepping down to buried near surface facets that formed prior to the beginning of this last storm cycle. in other cases, it could mean stepping down to weak, faceted snow near the ground. You are most likely to encounter this type of situation in steep, rocky, heavily featured terrain where the underlying snowpack is still relatively shallow.

weather

Today

Snow. The snow could be heavy at times. Widespread blowing snow. High near 26. Windy, with a south southwest wind around 30 mph, with gusts as high as 45 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 4 to 8 inches possible.

Tonight

Snow. Widespread blowing snow, mainly before 10pm. Low around 9. Breezy, with a west southwest wind 20 to 25 mph decreasing to 10 to 15 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 7 inches possible.

Tuesday

A 50 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 17. West northwest wind around 10 mph. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

Tuesday Night

A 30 percent chance of snow, mainly before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 5. West northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday

A 20 percent chance of snow before 11am. Partly sunny, with a high near 17. West northwest wind around 10 mph.
general announcements

Grooming: Heavy snow through the weekend will prevent grooming.

If you are getting out into the mountains, we love to hear from you! You can SUBMIT OBSERVATIONS ONLINE

If you would like to have avalanche advisories emailed to you, SIGN UP HERE

Benefit the Utah Avalanche Center when you shop from Backcountry.com or REI: Click this link for Backcountry.com or this link to REI, shop, and they will donate a percent of your purchase price to the UAC. Both offer free shipping (with some conditions) so this costs you nothing!

Benefit the Utah Avalanche Center when you sign up for AmazonSmile and designate the Utah Avalanche Center as your favorite charity, they will donate a portion of everything you spend to the UAC. I doesn't cost you a penny and we'd really appreciate the help.​

The information in this advisory is from the US Forest Service which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.