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.
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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.