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 Saturday, March 10thth, 2007 at 7:30 a.m.    

             

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

 

  

General Conditions:

               It looks like another inch or two of snow has fallen this week but it will not be enough to slow down the onset of spring conditions on the Wasatch 
Plateau. Melt freeze crusts will be the dominant conditions on East thru South thru West Facing slopes. Bad for side hills, and falling on if you’re on a snow 
machine, these crusts can firm up enough to be supportable to the weight of a skier, then when softened of by the morning sun a little, can provide dreamy 
conditions for skiing and snowboarding. This “corn snow”, so named because of the large size of the individual snow grains, is a spring treat, but don’t stay 
out on the steep sunny slopes to long, because when the crusts completely melt and break down, the snow loses all of it’s strength and becomes unstable, i.e.,
 capable of producing an avalanche. 
 
 

Mountain Weather:

Today: Mostly sunny. Warmer. Highs at 8000 feet around 40.
Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows at 8000 feet in the mid 20s.
Monday: Partly cloudy. Highs at 8000 feet around 40.
Monday night: Partly cloudy. Lows at 8000 feet in the mid 20s.
Tuesday: Partly cloudy. Highs at 8000 feet in the lower 40s.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Weather Station/ Location

Snow Depth (HS):  in./cm

New Snow (HN) in./cm

7:00 a.m. Temp (F)

Current Observations:  Wind, 48 hour snow

Mammoth/Cottonwood SNOTEL (8,800’):

36.4”

3” (Thursday)

33

Spring Conditions

Seeley Creek SNOTEL (10,000’):

24.0”

3”

27.5

Winds moderate WNW

Candland Peak

46.7”

2”

23.4

11 MPH WSW

Miller Flat Trailhead: 

43”

2”

~

Spring

 

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

            The changeover to spring has begun and we are quieting down up on the Wasatch Plateau and Wasatch Mountains compared to the last few weeks when there were several avalanche mishaps and close calls. I’d like to commend everyone (and the lucky few who pushed it and got away with it…) for a pretty decent safety record through the worst avalanche cycle of the year. Folks kept the slope angles within reason and the high marking under control. Max and I were preparing for the worst but were pleased that we never got “the call”. Today, we are calling the avalanche danger MODERATE, meaning that human triggered avalanches are still possible. Problem areas will be sunny side slopes, if and when they get heated up by daytime temperatures and solar activity. When slopes start to feel mushy and you’re sinking in deep into wet snow, it’s time to get off the steeper slopes. There is also a lingering possibility of deep slab releases on slopes with SE through NE facing components. These slabs will be hard to predict and may let you out WAY out on them before releasing. We’ve seen a few of these monsters this season on the skyline and if you get caught in one, the danger will not feel very moderate at all. Use your safe travel protocols, high mark or ski one at a time, stay clear of run out zones and test smaller slopes before adventuring out onto the big stuff. We’ll update this message tomorrow morning, thanks for calling.