Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Moab Area Mountains Issued by Eric Trenbeath for Friday - March 3, 2017 - 6:30am
bottom line

The avalanche danger is MODERATE with an overall trend toward more stable conditions. Stiff wind slabs still exist in upper elevations, and backcountry travelers should avoid smooth, rounded deposits of wind drifted snow, especially those with a hollow feel or sound to them. Look for them on the lee sides of ridge crests and terrain features such as sub-ridges and gully walls. There also remains a MODERATE danger for triggering an avalanche on a buried weak layer on steep slopes right around tree line and above that face NW-N-NE. Other concerns include large, overhanging cornices, and the potential for loose wet slide activity on sun exposed slopes as the day heats up.




special announcement

Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour Returns to Moab, Monday, March 13. Featuring the year’s best films on mountain sport, culture and adventure, this will be the 14th season the festival has come to Moab. Proceeds support the Utah Avalanche Center - Moab and Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation. For more info and to purchase tickets, go here.

Lost Skis: A guest from Talking Mountain Yurts left a pair of blue DPS skis with Dynafit bindings at Geyser Pass Trailhead on Monday. Please call Will at 435-260-7601 if you picked them up.

Local skier Craig Bigler lost a ski in the North Woods. If you run across it pleas call him at 435-260-1007
current conditions

Today will be a gorgeous day in the mountains. Skies are currently clear, winds are light and southerly, and it's a chilly 12 degrees at 10,000'. Snow conditions unfortunately, aren't quite as nice as the weather. NW winds on Wednesday wreaked havoc on the more exposed alpine bowls, and a strong sun over the past couple of days has put a crust on sunny aspects. Soft, powder snow conditons can still be found if you look for them in more sheltered locations.

Mountain temperatures stayed pretty cool yesterday, and in spite of the strong sun, I did not observe any signs of loose wet instability. Wind slabs that formed earlier in the week have stiffened up and gained strength, but smooth, rounded, hollow sounding pillows are still in great abundance in the high country. A few ridge crests are sporting huge cornices, and I'm stlll noting the presence of a weak, faceted layer 16-20" below the snow surface on NW-N-NW aspects.

For recent observations go here.

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
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

Stiff, hollow sounding wind slabs are still in abundance in the high country, primarily on NW-NE-SE aspects. These slabs have gained considerable strength over the past few days, but it may still be possible to trigger one and ruin your day up there in the high country. Continue to suspect steep wind drifted slopes and avoid obvious rounded pillows on the lee sides of ridge creasts and terrain features.

You can still find plenty of stiff, hollow wind slabs like this out there. Most are gaining strength and are pretty well bonded at this point, but you need to keep your guard up. We turned back off of this slope.

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

The chances of triggering an avalanche on a buried weak layer are decreasing, and yesterday, people were getting away with skiing some pretty big lines. I am however, continuing to observe a reactive, weak, faceted layer 16-20" below the surface on NW-N-NE aspects, primarily between 11,000' and 11,500'. It's easy to identfy, and I would recommend digging down to see if it's there, and how it behaves, before committing to steeper, more radical slopes.

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

A couple of other things to think about out there:

Cornices: Large cornices exist on some upper elevation ridge crests, mostly in areas of more extreme, radical terrain. Though not widespread, give them a wide berth if you find yourself in areas where you are underneath them, or if you are cruising along upper elevation ridges.

Loose wet slides: Daytime high temperatures are not exceedingly warm, but be alert to signs of instability such as pinwheels, roller balls, or sloppy wet snow on sun exposed slopes.
weather

A beautiful, sunny day is on tap with mostly light, southwesterly winds and high temperatures at 10,000' in the low to mid 30's. Winds will be in the increase through Saturday, ahead of the next disturbance to move into the region on Sunday. It doesn't look real promising at the moment with most of the energy passing north.

general announcements

Road Conditions: Grand county plowed the road on Wednesday and warm temperatures Thursday melted it out down to the dirt at lower elevations. Expect to find it snow packed up high, and muddy down low later in the day.

Grooming: Matt rolled out all mountain trails yesterday and ran the Ginzu into Gold Basin. It should be fast and furious this morning.

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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.