Moab

The avalanche danger is LOW and generally stable snow conditions exist. By definition, small avalanches are possible in isolated areas or in extreme terrain.

The primary concerns are isolated pockets of wind-drifted snow on leeward slopes above treeline, and sluffing in the snow at the surface in steep northerly facing terrain. Evaluate each slope and look for any signs of instability such as cracking in fresh wind drifts or loose surface snow easily moving.

Risk is inherent in mountain travel; even a small avalanche can be problematic in very steep, consequential terrain.

Geyser Pass Road: The road is plowed and widened with a snow packed surface.

Grooming: Trails were groomed on Monday. Thanks Matt!

No new avalanches were reported in the backcountry. See the La Sal Avalanche database here.

24 Hour Snow 0" 72 Hour Snow 3" Season Total Snow 186" Base Depth at Gold Basin 69"

Winds on Pre Laurel Peak ESE 5 Temp 14 F

Weather

It will be another nice day in the mountains with highs around 20 degrees. Winds will shift to the WNW blowing 10-15 mph and increasing to 15-20 mph this afternoon. The wind will ramp up overnight with sustained speeds of 20-35 and gusts to 45 out of the NW. Northerly winds will stick around on Thursday blowing 15-25 mph, keeping things cold in the mountains. The winds back off on Friday and the weekend looks to be pleasant and sunny.

General Conditions

Conditions are slowly deteriorating, but there is still good snow to be found out there. Yesterday we found variable conditions on East aspects above treeline, with some punchy sun crusts underneath the three inches of new snow. The best turns were in sheltered areas near treeline and below. Other parties also reported variable conditions in Talking Mountain Cirque with a mix of soft turns and occasional "dust on crust" conditions. People have been taking advantage of the generally stable snow conditions and have been pushing up into high alpine terrain. You can read recent La Sal observations here.

The snowpack is mostly stable, but I am still suspicious of lingering wind driftson Northerly aspects above treeline. In my travels Monday, I found some unstable drifts in isolated terrain features in the more extreme terrain. For more details, read my observations here. By comparison, we traveled on steep East facing terrain above treeline on Tuesday and did not encounter any drifts like the ones illustrated in the photo below. These older drifts are becoming harder to trigger as time goes on, but they are certainly something to look out for if you are getting into steep terrain in the alpine.

This photo is from Monday, when I encountered wind drifted snow in the steep gullies just below the ridgeline, a likely place to find trouble today.

While the likelihood of triggering an avalanche on the buried persistent weak layer that formed in November has become so low that we have removed that problem from our forecast, a remote possibility exists in thinner snowpack areas, or in very steep, rocky, radical terrain.

Always practice safe travel techniques regardless of conditions. Continue to evaluate the snowpack and gather as much information as possible. Use test slopes that are representative of the terrain you wish to ski.

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.

Conditions are great for exploring new terrain in the alpine right now.

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. This forecast will be updated by 7:30 tomorrow morning.