US Forest Service Manti-La Sal National Forest

Good morning, this Dave Medara 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 Ephraim, Huntington and Fairview Canyons. This advisory is brought to you through a partnership of Utah State Parks and the USFS. Today is Sunday, February 4th, 2007, at 7:30 am.

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 weather, go to our WEATHER page.

For more information on snowmobiling on the Skyline, click this LINK

Current Conditions:

Well we’ve had 2-3 inches of snow this week but the cover is still really bad out there. It’s still a mixed bag of conditions on the skyline with old snow surfaces ranging from board hard wind slabs to rotten faceted crystals. None of these surfaces are very good for snow machines, skiing or snowboarding. Avalanche danger will not be as severe as the lack of ground cover and it continues to be heads up conditions for skiing and snow machines. At least things are warming up. We are still in the 50 – 60 percent of normal snowfall range along the skyline with no major weather producers in sight.

Click the links below to find out up to date information at these weather stations on the Skyline.

Mammoth/Cottonwood SNOTEL (8,800’): 24.5” snow, 28.8 degrees out @ 7:00 a.m.

Seeley Creek SNOTEL (10,000’): 21” on the ground, winds are 19 mph from the WNW, 25 degrees @ 7:00 a.m.

Miller Flat Trailhead: 25” of snow on the ground. 2. 5 Inches of new snow this past week.

Mountain Weather:

Today: Partly cloudy. Windy. A 20 percent chance of snow in the morning. Highs at 8000 feet around 40. West winds 20 to 30 mph in the morning.
Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows at 8000 feet near 20.
Monday: Mostly sunny. Highs at 8000 feet in the upper 40s.
Monday night: Mostly clear. Lows at 8000 feet near 20.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny. Highs at 8000 feet in the upper 40s.
Tuesday night: Partly cloudy. Lows at 8000 feet near 20.

Avalanche Conditions: (Click here for the International Avalanche Danger Scale)

With only 2-3 inches of new snow to add to the load on the snowpack I wouldn’t expect things to be very scary out on the Skyline today, at least with regard to avalanches. With the storm gone and snow available for transport, the major player will now be the wind. Pretty good winds are being recorded at the Seely creek wind site and reports of sizeable corning build-up along upper elevations have come in. We are currently calling the avalanche danger MODERATE on upper elevation SE – E – NE facing slopes where strong winds have been building cornices along ridgelines. Stay back from the edge of overhanging cornices. Below about 9000’ the avalanche danger will be LOW.

The advisory is also available via recorded message at (888) 999-4019 option 6 or at (800) 648-7433 (OHV-RIDE)