Moab

There's not quite enough snow for off trail riding and sliding just yet but it may be possible to trigger an avalanche on steep, northerly aspects where slabs of wind drifted snow overly weak, pre-existing snow. These areas are extremely difficult to access at this time but if a slope looks like it has enough snow to ride, it has enough to slide.

The 5th Annual Avalanche Awareness Week is December 3-10. The week's goal is to save lives through activities that promote avalanche awareness, education, and safety. We have a variety of events around the state. In Moab that means:

Free Know Before You Go Avalanche Awareness Presentation Thursday, December 7, at the Moab Arts and Recreation Center (MARC), 111 E 100 N at 6:00 p.m.

Our 2nd annual Ski Wax/Pray For Snow Benefit Party Saturday, December 9, also at the MARC. It was a real blast last year so mark your calendars. For tickets and information click here

General Conditions

12"-16" of snow fell on Friday, November 24. Though not enough to call it game on, this is a welcome addition and we now have 20" on the ground in Gold Basin and up to 2' of snow up around Geyser Pass. Things are going to dry out again this week but models are hinting at a pattern change in December. Keep those snow dances coming!

And just like that, it turned to winter!

Several inches of pre-existing snow has turned to weak, sugary facets at the base of the snowpack on northerly aspects. Time will tell how big of a problem this becomes, but we'll be keeping an eye on it. For now, it's only a concern in upper elevation terrain where winds have drifted slabs over top.

Snowpack and Weather Data

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.

It’s never too early to start thinking about avalanches. Here are a few things to consider doing:

1-Sign up for an avalanche class.

2-Take a free online avalanche course the UAC built for Know Before You Go or other courses listed on the KBYG website (Develop skills -> Online Learning).

3-Get your avalanche rescue gear ready for winter. Put fresh batteries in your transceiver and update the firmware. Inspect your shovel and probe. Get your airbag backpack ready by possibly doing a test deployment and updating the firmware if it is an electric version.

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.