Moab

The avalanche danger is MODERATE on steep slopes near and above tree line that face NW-N-NE-E. The problems are two fold and human triggered avalanches involving both wind drifted snow, and avalanches stepping down into buried persistent weak layers are possible. You are most likely to encounter unstable slabs of wind drifted snow on the leeward sides of ridge crests and terrain features above tree line.

Deeper and more dangerous avalanches involving a persistent weak layer are possible on these same aspects near tree line and above. The only way to avoid this problem is to avoid slopes steeper than 30 degrees in these areas.

Conditions remain very thin, and hazards such as rocks and logs have just been thinly covered.

Geyser Pass Road Conditions: Many folks have made it up over the past couple of days and the recent snow has been packed down. It is slick, however, with sections of ice and mud down low and packed snow up high. The parking lot remains a good place to get stuck. 4x4 required.

Grooming: Grooming will again commence this week.

Friday, January 30 - Saturday, January 31 - Moab Backcountry 101 Class - Our annual local backcountry avalanche class. Click here for information and registration. Moab and Monticello locals can use the discount code MOAB-LOCAL for a 10% discount.

No recent activity has been observed. Click here for the complete avalanche database.

24 Hour Snow: 0" 72 Hour Snow: 0" Season Total Snow: 32" Depth at Gold Basin: 20"

Winds on Pre-Laurel Peak: S 5-10 Temp: 14° F

Weather

A brief ridge of high pressure slides over the region today bringing mostly sunny skies, light to moderate southwest winds, and high temperatures near 30°F at 10,000 feet. By Wednesday, clouds will again move in ahead of a shortwave trough that will slide northwest across Baja and into the desert Southwest. At the same time, a long wave trough will dive down out of the Pacific Northwest. Cold northwest flow will usher in more winter like temperatures. Models are back on board with some snow for our area. It's an interesting setup, we'll se what happens. A notably dry period follows as a strong ridge of high pressure builds over the region.

General Conditions

Storm snow from last weekend has settled significantly over the past couple of days and conditions aren't quite as good as they were but good turns are still being found on sheltered terrain. On shady slopes, snow depths range from about 20 inches at 10,000 feet to up to 3 feet or more at upper elevations. Southwest winds have begun to scour exposed windward slopes while alternately loading leeward aspects, primarily slopes facing N and E. Snowpack structure remains poor with plenty of weak, faceted snow beneath the Christmas rain crust. Ryan Huels and Chris and Morgan Orozco both sent in observations from yesterday. In addition to finding some good skiing, the Orozcos had a reactive stability test, confirming our suspicions about the poor snowpack structure. More on that below.

Snowpack and Weather Data

NEW! Gold Basin webcam storm stake

Gold Basin Storm Stake (10,000')

Gold Basin SNOTEL site (10,000')

SNOTEL site near Geyser Pass Winter Trailhead (9600')

Wind Station on Pre-Laurel Peak (11,400')

NWS forecast for the La Sal Mountains.

This forecast is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This forecast describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.