US Forest Service Manti-La Sal National
Forest
Introduction:
Good Morning, this is Dave Medara with the
To
check out past advisories, go to ARCHIVE. To check out the current, go to our WEATHER page.
Current
Conditions:
We now have 41” of snow at the
Miller Flat trailhead with decent coverage on most slopes for snowmobiling,
skiing and boarding out there. None of last night’s forecast snow arrived.
There’s a chance for more today. Good powder conditions can be found on the
shady side slopes, East – Northeast – Northwest facing. Expect to find varying
degrees of sun and wind crusts on the sunnier slopes as a result of the strong
winds earlier this week and the warm, sunny days that have followed. The forecast 15-25 mph west winds should make
the kite skiing pretty good as well.
Road are plowed and clear. The State Parks and Rec
have groomed the trail from the Miller Flat T.H. to Joe’s Valley, making for a
nice ride today.
Click the links below to find out
up to date information at these weather stations on the Skyline.
Mammoth/Cottonwood SNOTEL
(8,800’): 40” of snow on the ground.
Seeley Creek SNOTEL (10,000’):
There is 26” of snow on the ground.
Mountain
Weather:
Today...Breezy. Numerous snow showers in the early
morning...Then scattered snow showers in the afternoon. Much
colder. Accumulation 1-3 inches. Highs at 8000 feet in the upper 20s. West winds 15-25 mph.
Tonight...Mostly cloudy
with snow showers likely in the evening...Then partly cloudy with a slight
chance of snow showers after
Monday...Mostly
sunny. Highs at 8000 feet around 30.
Avalanche
Conditions: (Click here for the International
Avalanche Danger Scale)
The warm weather this week has led to quite a bit of
settlement and the snowpack has stabalized
quite a bit. There are still some weak snowpack structures out there,
particularly on E-NE-NW facing slopes that don’t see as much sun, and tend to
get larger snow loads piled up on them. Buried faceted crystals on these
slopes, approximately 30 – 35 inches down in the snowpack, could fail with
dramatic results. This danger is not widespread, but it is worth noting before
you hit the slopes today. The BOTTOM
LINE is a MODERATE avalanche hazard on East –
Northeast – Northwest facing slopes steeper than 35 degrees today. Expect to
find a LOW hazard elsewhere in the range. The hazard
is not limited to high elevations either, we had a skier
release at 9400 feet a week ago. BE aware on shady slopes today and practice safe travel
techniques. Carry an Avalanche Beacon, shovel and probe and know how to use
them. If you don’t know or want to know more then we’d like to invite you to
attend a Basic Avalanche Awareness and Field Day starting at the Carbon County
Recreation Center, Price, Utah. 7 p.m. at the Rec Center on Friday evening
January 20th, with a Field
day Saturday on the Skyline January 21st, 2006.
Basic Avalanche Awareness and Field Day
Carbon County Recreation Center, Price, Utah
7 p.m. at t Center (Friday), Field day Saturday on the Skyline
*The
advisory is also available via recorded message at (800) 648-7433