Manti-La Sal Avalanche Center

US Forest Service Manti-La Sal National Forest

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 with Utah State Parks. Today is Saturday, December 25th, 2004 at 7:30 a.m.

To see past advisories check out the ARCHIVE. To see current conditions go to our WEATHER PAGE. To see photos go to the AVIPHOTOS page.

General Conditions:

Thursday’s light dusting of 2-4” of new snow has improved conditions on the skyline dramatically, freshening things up just enough for some decent riding conditions to be found out there. Your best bet for soft and fresh conditions are in the mid elevation locations that are shady and sheltered from the winds. Watch out for punchy conditions in these places as the snow is weak and rotten and you can easily hit the ground. On southerly aspects, you will be feeling the old crust underneath, creating a great supportable surface. On the open wind exposed slopes, you will find a mix of old hard slabs and lightly covered old avalanche debris, as well as lots of old tracks. Be careful on the roads as they are still snowpacked and slick in some locations.

Current Conditions (6 a.m.):

Miller Flat (8,800’): 26” of settled snow on the ground with 2.5” of new snow from Thursday. It is about 13 degrees right now.

Top of the Skyline: 40-45” of settled snow on the ground with about 4” of new snow from Thursday.

Mountain Weather: (At 8,000’)

Today. Sunny. Highs at 8000 feet in the mid 30s.
Tonight. Mostly clear. Lows at 8000 feet 15-20.
Sunday. Mostly cloudy. Highs at 8000 feet in the upper 30s.

Avalanche Conditions:

Well, it has been 2 weeks since our last big storm and the recent snow is not nearly enough to heighten our avalanche concerns. Essentially, the snowpack is just a big unreactive lump of rotting snow. As our weather pattern continues to remain cold and clear, the snowpack is just getting weaker and weaker for when we do get our next storm. Overall the avalanche danger is LOW on all aspects and elevations. Remember that LOW avalanche danger doesn’t mean no avalanche danger, and there is still the random pocket of snow that did not avalanche in the last cycle. Remember to travel safely on those steep, wind-loaded NE-N aspects-one of the few locations where you might still find a pocket of snow that will avalanche. One at a time while highmarking!