US Forest Service
Manti-La Sal
National Forest
Introduction:
Good
morning, this is Max Forgensi with the
If you
have been out in the backcountry, please post your OBSERVATIONS with us!
To
check out past advisories, go to ARCHIVE. To check out the current, go to our WEATHER page.
If you
would like to see some SNOWPIT profiles, click
the link…and more to come.
Current
Conditions:
Warm temperatures are in store
for today’s State Ride sponsored by the Skyline Snorider’s. Today will be a perfect day to partake in a
poker ride and do some bowl jumping in the afternoon. Don’t forget to wear the sunscreen. The Utah State Parks has groomed the road from Miller Flat to
Joe’s Valley Reservoir. There are going
to be a lot of folks enjoying the Skyline this weekend…park efficiently as
possible and enjoy!
Snow conditions today will be a
mixed bag of breakable sun crusts on South and West aspects while North and
East aspects will hold some cold, consolidated powder…what everybody is after
today. These aspects are also where the
avalanche dragons are going to be today, read on to find out more.
Click the links below to find out
up to date information at these weather stations on the Skyline.
Mammoth/Cottonwood SNOTEL
(8,800’): 54” of snow on the ground. It is 19 degrees out at
Seeley Creek SNOTEL (10,000’):
There is 35” of snow on the ground.
It is 26 degrees out at
There is 58” of snow on the ground at the Miller Flat Trailhead.
Mountain
Weather:
Saturday: Sunny. Southwest wind 10 mph. High
44.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy. West wind 9 mph. Low 18.
Sunday: Partly cloudy. Southwest wind 14 mph. High 46.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy. Slight chance of snow. Snow accumulation 1
inch. Probability of measurable precipitation 20 percent. Low 29.
Avalanche
Conditions: (Click here for the International
Avalanche Danger Scale)
Anyone who has been up on the Skyline lately has seen plenty of avalanche activity, mostly from cornices failing and starting avalanches in the top 12-18” of the snow pack. They have been concentrated on North and East aspects. There is a layer of weak snow buried 12-18” under the snow surface, and only in isolated areas have wind slabs formed over these weak layers. And it’s going to take a large trigger like a cornice failure to create a sizeable avalanche. This avalanche in Staker canyon started when a cornice failed. Any avalanches triggered by humans today will be shallow and will not travel very far.
For today the BOTTOM LINE is going to be MODERATE in upper elevation bowls on North through East aspects that have yet to fail. Be especially careful of large overhanging cornices and areas that have developed shallow wind slabs on these aspects. These wind slabs will be very localized and found at the very top of starting zones. For the rest of the range the avalanche danger will be LOW.
Have fun out there! You can also check us out at
Basic
Avalanche Awareness and Field Day
*The advisory
is also available via recorded message at (800) 648-7433