US Forest Service Manti-La Sal Avalanche Center

     Snow, Weather and Avalanche Advisory

                       

Introduction:

Good Morning!  This is Evan Stevens with the USFS Manti-La Sal Avalanche Center with your avalanche and mountain weather advisory for the Wasatch Plateau/Manti Skyline Region, including, but not limited to Huntington and Fairview Canyons.  This advisory is brought to you through a partnership of Utah State Parks and the USFS. Today is Sunday, December 12th, 2004 at 7:30 am. 

 

To see some of the Manti Skyline’s past advisories check out the ARCHIVE.  To see current conditions go to our WEATHER PAGE.  To see photos go to the AVIPHOTOS page.

 

We are booking basic avalanche awareness classes all over the Skyline region and have our first AIARE Level I Avalanche Course.  The Level I American Institute for Avalanche, Research and Education class is a three day course with an emphasis on field days.  Call (435) 636-3363 to sign up for this FREE course being held in Mt. Pleasant.  Class dates are January 14th thru the 16th.  Limit of 18 students. 

 

Current Conditions:

The 8-14” of new snow from last week’s storm has been laid down in a solid wind effected mass, leaving behind a mixed bag of supportable and punchy surfaces, as well as wet and crusty snow on southerly aspects.  Sheltered and shady locations are your best bet for untracked powder, but folks have been out riding most places in the last few days, so tracks are abundant.  Snow depths range from about 25-35” on the low end of the scale at Miller Flat, with up to 45-55” in favored locations.  Currently temperatures are in the upper 20’s.  Tons of avalanche debris can be seen throughout the skyline region from the mid-week storm.

 

Mountain Weather:

Today. Partly cloudy. Highs at 8000 feet around 50.
Tonight. Partly cloudy. Lows at 8000 feet near 20.
Monday. Partly cloudy. Highs at 8000 feet in the mid 40s.

 

Avalanche Conditions:

Plenty of folks were out and about testing the stability in the backcountry yesterday.  Despite the abundance of natural hard slab releases (three more photos 1 2 3) originating from ridgelines with dimensions of 1-2’ deep and widths of 50-400’, people decided to test the slopes right next door to ones that had ripped out already.  Personally, I would still be a little weary of the steep and shady terrain, as snow pit tests and large whoompfs and shooting cracks were still showing me signs of instability.  If an avalanche is going to rip out right now it will have a few characteristics:  First, it will probably go about 2 feet deep or deeper-essentially to the layer of snow right near the ground which consists of old surface hoar and facets, weak and sugary snow, from our clear and cold weather.  Second, is that it might have hard slab characteristics, in that it may break out upslope above you from the middle slope or as you are traveling beneath it.  Finally, the pieces of snow that are still waiting to avalanche need your weight to trigger them and will probably be triggered from a shallow or rocky spot on the slope.  What this adds up to is an avalanche danger of MODERATE on wind loaded terrain of E-NE-N-NW aspects steeper than 35 degrees.  Remember that MODERATE danger means human triggered avalanches are possible.  Many slopes have already avalanched or have been ridden hard, so the danger is pockety in nature-the danger won’t seem so moderate if you find one of these slopes that hasn’t avalanched yet! 

 

The other major avalanche consideration is the wet snow avalanche danger which will rise to MODERATE as the day progresses, on SE-S-SW-W aspects advancing in that order as the hours of the clock pass on.  Look for signs (one from a road cut yesterday) such as rollerballs to tell you that it is time to get off those aspects.  There is not a ton of snow on these southerly aspects so the danger is a bit limited, but still worth noting.  Also be wary of the many cornices out there that could fail under your weight and drop into some nasty terrain or start a slide with the big load that gets put onto a slope.

 

Finally, remember your safe travel techniques…always travel one at a time and never travel onto a slope that someone else is already on.  Yesterday, as I was out crossing a slope to examine a slide path, a snowmobiler high-marked above me on a steep hard slab!  Please take those extra few seconds to travel one at a time!