Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Moab Area Mountains Issued by Eric Trenbeath for Saturday - March 4, 2017 - 7:11am
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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. 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. And finally, with daytime heating we could see some loose wet slide activity on sun exposed slopes, and a weakening of large cornices.




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

High clouds have begun to stream into the area, and southwest winds are on the increase avearging 20-25 mph on Pre Laurel Peak. Temperatures at 10,000' are in the mid 20's. Snow conditions are a bit of a mixed bag. 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.

In spite of the strong sun the past couple of days, I have not observed any signs of loose wet instability. This could change today as 10,000' temps rise to near 40 degrees. 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

Today will be the warmest day of the week, and we could see some loose, wet slide activity on sun exposed slopes as the day heats up. Look for signs of instability such as roller balls or pinwheels, and stay off of steep slopes if the snow is wet sloppy up to around your boot tops.

weather

Winds will be on the increase today ahead of a storm system that will begin to affect the area on Sunday. Most of the energy is passing to the north but we could see few inches of snow by Monday.

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.