Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Moab Area Mountains Issued by Eric Trenbeath for Monday - January 22, 2018 - 6:18am
bottom line

The avalanche danger is CONSIDERABLE today. Dangerous avalanche conditions exist, and human triggered avalanches releasing on a layer of weak, sugary, faceted snow near the ground are likely on steep slopes that face W-N-SE. Backcountry travelers should avoid avalanche terrain in these areas by staying off of and out from under steep, or locally connected slopes.




special announcement

Grand County will be plowing the road to the Geyser Pass Trailhead this afternoon. You will be on your own this morning so expect to find deep, rutted snow on the road. 4wd is required and chains may also be necessary. The gate will be closed for plowing this afternoon but timing is uncertain as residential areas in the mountains need to be cleared first.

We've scheduled our annual Backcountry 101 avalanche course for Feb 2,3. For more information or to register go here.

We've also scheduled a Motorized Backcountry 101 for snowmobiles and snowbikes. For more information or to register go here.
current conditions

Welcome to winter! The mountains picked up 15" of snow from this storm, with snowfall rates of 2" an hour between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. yesterday morning. This morning, skies are mostly clear, 10,000' temps are in the single digits, and ridge top winds are northwesterly averaging 15 mph.

This is finally the storm to kick off winter recreation in the La Sals though coverage is still very thin. Travel will be particularly treacherous today with many obstacles such as rocks and downed trees just covered over with a fresh blanket of snow. When this storm settles out, we'll finally have a base to build on. Base depth is 24" at the Geyser Pass Trailhead.

Backcountry travelers yesterday reported deep powder snow with widespread collapsing of the snowpack, a sure sign of dangerous avalanche conditions. Tim Mathews and Brian Murdock submitted these excellent observations.

New snow totals in Gold Basin.

Snow totals at the Geyser Pass Trailhead, (9600')

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

Backcountry travelers yesterday reported widespread collapsing, whoomphing and cracking in the snowpack - all red flag signs of instabity. Loose, sugary, faceted snow on the ground is providing an unstable base for the recent snow load and dangerous persistent slab conditions exist. Backcountry travelers should avoid terrain steeper than about 30 degrees on W-N-SE facing aspects.

For good insite into the present instabilty, check out this observation from Tim Mathews and Dave Garcia with a video of a reactive extended column test.

Cracking such as this is a sure sign of instability. Photo submitted by Tim Mathews.

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

Northwesterly winds yesterday were able to drift the low density snow forming wind slabs in upper elevation wind exposed terrain. Be on the lookout for recent deposits of wind drifted snow recognized by their smooth, rounded appearance. A triggered wind slab also has the potential for stepping down into a buried weak layer causing a deeper, and more dangerous persistent slab avalanche.
weather

Today look for mostly sunny skies with high temps near 10,000' to be in the low 20's. Dry and sunny conditions remain until Thursday when a weak storm system primarily affecting regions north will bring clouds and a chance of snow to our area.

general announcements

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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.