Manti La-Sal Avalanche Center                                                                                                                  Snow, Weather, and Avalanche Advisory

 

 

Introduction:

  This is Max Forgensi with the USFS Manti-La Sal Avalanche Center with your with your avalanche and mountain weather advisory for the Wasatch Plateau/Manti Skyline Region, including, but not limited to Huntington, Ephraim and Fairview Canyons.  This advisory is brought to you through a partnership of Utah State Parks and the USFS.  It is Sunday, January 16th, 2005 at 7:30 a.m. 

 

 ****************************************** ACCIDENT UPDATE *********************************************

I regret to inform every one of two accidents that occurred early Saturday afternoon (1/8) on the Wasatch Plateau/Manti Skyline.  One accident, occurring in Ephraim Canyon involved four snowboarders, one of which was buried for 30 minutes and rescued by his partners.  Unfortunately, this resulted in a fatality.  The second accident occurred around the Choke Cherry Ridge area and involved a group of snowmobilers.  Two snowmobilers were caught and one was buried by the avalanche.  This accident resulted in a second fatality.  Both groups were using avalanche beacons.  We are in the middle of the investigations and will post the results once we get all the information straight.

 

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.  The AVIPHOTOS page has some current pictures of the Blue Bell Avalanche Accident. 

 

Current Conditions:

            High pressure still dominates our weather, a slight chance of snow for the area still exists.    The clouds have lifted and winds have subsided.  Plenty of natural and human triggered avalanches have occurred in the past week.  These avalanches have been large and widespread, most of them occurring on North through East aspects, one of the best clues Mother Nature can give you showing which slopes are more suspect to slide.  Read on to the Avalanche Conditions for more information.  The road crews have been busy as of late and the roads on top of the Skyline are in great shape.  The Mammoth/Cottonwood SNOTEL site has 47” of snow on the stake, 12” of the snow on the ground fell this past Monday and Tuesday.  The Miller Flat Reservoir Trailhead has 46” of snow on the ground.  It is currently 22 degrees out on the Skyline.   

 

Mountain Weather:

The Skyline is under a High Pressure system currently, hopefully it will stay around to help with the snow’s stability.     

Today:  Mostly cloudy.  High at 8,000’ near 30.   20% chance of snow.   

Sunday night:   Cloudy.  Low near 20.  Chance of snow.  Chance of snow 50%. 

Martin Luther King Jr. Day:  Mostly cloudy with a 30% chance of snow.   Highs at 8,000’ will be in the lower 30’s.  Skies should clear up as the day goes on. 

 

Avalanche Conditions:

                 An incredible amount of snow has fallen in the past two weeks with strong winds transporting it onto the leeward sides of slopes and ridges.  We have had a large natural avalanche cycle this past week and plenty of reasons to respect the power of avalanches.  Although the natural avalanche activity is moving farther into the past, there are places up on the Skyline that are still suspect to slide today; large overhanging cornices, wind-loaded slopes and the run-out zones of these wind-loaded slopes.  On Friday, I was 20’ away from the edge of a cornice and it cracked between my skis.   Although the skies have cleared, it is advised to stay off and away from the run-out zones of wind-loaded slopes on N-E aspects greater than 35 degrees.  On these slopes, I am going to rate the avalanche danger as CONSIDERABLE.  Human triggered avalanches on these slopes are probable.  The rest of the Skyline I am going to rate as MODERATE.  There is plenty of powder to enjoy up on the Skyline without venturing into avalanche terrain, do your self a favor and wait for the snow to gain some strength.