Moab

The avalanche danger is LOW on all aspects and elevations and generally stable snow conditions exist. Watch for areas of unstable snow on isolated terrain features. Higher consequence terrain increases your risk where even a small slide could carry you through rocks or over a cliff.

Hard snow conditions exist and dangerous "slides for life" are possible. Be mindful of your exposure on steep slopes with firm snow, and consider carrying a tool for self arrest in the high country.

We will be holding a Backcountry 101 course Feb 18, 19. It's a great introduction to understanding avalanche hazard and how to travel through the mountains safely. Go here for details and to register. And a huge thanks to our friends at Moab Gear Trader for their sponsorship of this course!

Road Conditions: The road to Geyser Pass Trailhead is mostly down to the dirt. Some patchy areas of packed snow and ice remain and they are slick. AWD and good tires are recommended.

Grooming: Trails have not been groomed this week. Follow LUNA (Lower Utah Nordic Alliance) on Instagram @luna_moab

In our travels last week, we came upon several old, but previously unreported avalanches on the NE side of Laurel Ridge. This area is heavily wooded, but is very steep terrain, and it is worth noting the avalanche potential back there.

6:00 a.m. weather data:

24 Hour Snow 0" 72 Hour Snow 0" Base Depth at Gold Basin 39" Wind NW 10-15 Temp 18F

Conditions will remain dry and sunny while steadily warming through Monday. A Pacific trough will dig into the Great Basin Monday night into Tuesday bringing the first glimmer of hope we've seen in weeks. The position of the trough as it deepens and digs further south remains unclear and snow for our area remains uncertain.

NWS Weather Forecast for the La Sal Mountains

Gold Basin SNOTEL site (10,000')

Storm Totals in Gold Basin

Wind Station on Pre Laurel Peak (11,700')

Snowpack

I'm not sure what you'd call it but Mark Sevenoff and I found decent turning conditions on a southerly aspect around 11,000' yesterday. I guess faux-corn would be the best descriptor as it was certainly a melt freeze product. Elsewhere, conditions remain pretty rugged with a full range of crusts, textured surfaces, and hard snow. Areas with soft, re-crystallized "powder" can be found in sheltered areas but they are hit and miss to say the least.

During extended periods of high pressure we keep a vigilant eye on the development of loose, sugary, faceted snow forming near the surface. Near surface facets can become the next weak layer in the snowpack when new snow lands on top. This weak, sugary, non-cohesive layer can also produce dry loose snow avalanches. The weakest snow can be found on steep, shady, northerly aspects right around treeline and below. A group I spoke with on Saturday said the entire snowpack had become faceted in one such area they encountered. Above treeline, conditions are much more variable ranging from from wind scoured and sun crusted, to boiler plate. Where crusts are thin, the snow is faceting underneath. This makes mapping of this future weak layer tricky. Generally speaking, the more sheltered the area, the more likely the the surface is to be weak and faceted. When new snow finally comes, slope by slope analysis will be required when getting into steep terrain.

The beacon training park is up and running above the Geyser Pass Trailhead. Pull out your beacon and practice your skills as you head up the trail! A huge thanks to Talking Mountain Yurts and Moab Gear Trader for their support of this great resource!

Who's up for some free avalanche training? Get a refresher, become better prepared for an upcoming avalanche class, or just boost your skills. Go to https://learn.kbyg.org/ and scroll down to Step 2 for a series of interactive online avalanche courses produced by the UAC.

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