Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Moab Area Mountains Issued by Eric Trenbeath for Friday - January 26, 2018 - 7:28am
bottom line

The overall avalanche danger is MODERATE but areas of CONSIDERABLE danger exist in steep terrain that faces NW-N-E above about 11,000' where more than 16" of snow can be found overlying weak, sugary, faceted snow on the ground. Areas of freshly drifted snow will also be found in upper elevation, wind exposed terrain. These new wind slabs will add stress to the already dangerous persistent slab problem on upper elevation, northerly aspects, and travelers should avoid steep terrain in these areas.

On south facing, mid and lower elevation terrain the avalanche danger is LOW.
special announcement

Episode 3 of the UAC podcast is live. We talk with UDOT Avalanche Program Supervisor Bill Nalli on how he and his teams keep the Greatest Snow on Earth from avalanching over the open roads and highways of the state. Check it out on ITunes, Stitcher, the UAC blog, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm sorry to see we've had to cancel our Backcountry 101 classes due to lack of snow.

The UAC Marketplace is online. The holiday auction is closed, but our online marketplace still has deals on skis, packs, airbag packs, beacons, snowshoes, soft goods and much more.
current conditions

The mountains picked up a quick shot of snow last night totaling 4-5". Southerly winds blew in the moderate to strong range yesterday afternoon, then shifted to the WNW around 2:00 a.m. They are currently averaging 15 mph with gusts near 30. It's 14 degrees at the Geyser Pass Trailhead.

In my travels on Tuesday, the reality set in that in spite of receiving up to 16" of snow last weekend, there still just isn't enough base for safe skiing and riding conditions off the groomed trails and roads. Sunday's storm snow has settled out and the base depth at Geyser Pass Trailhead is 16". Overall coverage ranges from about a foot on sun exposed slopes, to up 20" in favored locations. Hard core enthusiasts tracked out the lower angle, grassy slopes over the weekend, but for now, the best game in town continues to be on groomed trails and roads.

New snow totals in Gold Basin.

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

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

Road conditions to Geyser Pass Trailhead: Expect to fond a few inches of new snow on the road today.

Grooming conditions: New and drifted snow will cover the track today.

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

With so little overall snow on the ground, it seems odd to say that there are some dangerous avalanche conditions out there. But the reality is that steep, north facing terrain right around treeline and above does have areas of considerable avalanche danger, and human triggered avalanches remain likely. On Tuesday my partners and I remotely collapsed an entire starting zone on a NE aspect at 11,200', and snow stabilty tests continue to produce very reactive results. For the forseeable future, backcountry travelers should avoid, steep, northerly facing, upper elevation terrain where more than about 16" of snow rests on top of an unstable, loose, sugary, basal facet layer.

This video illustrates the current condition.

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

Gusty southwest winds blew yesterday as the storm moved in. They shifted to the northwest around 2:00 a.m. and then dropped off into the moderate range. The 4-5" of new snow will be easily blown around under these conditions, and today I would expect to find shallow, new wind slabs in upper elevation, wind exposed terrain. On northerly facing aspects, these new wind slabs have added additional stress to underlying persistent slab problems.

weather
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.