Manti-La Sal Avalanche Center

US Forest Service Manti-La Sal National Forest

Introduction:

Good morning! This is Max Forgensi 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 Fairview and Huntington Canyons. This advisory is brought to you through a partnership of the US Forest Service and Utah State Parks. Today is Saturday, January 17^th, 2004 at 7:30 a.m.

General Conditions:

What a great day to get up on the Skyline and recreate! Currently at the Mammoth/Cottonwood SNOTEL site it is 9.5F and there is 30” of snow on the ground. At the Miller Flat Trailhead there is 37” of snow on the ground, and the same can be said for Seeley Canyon. Although we haven’t had any new snow for over a week, it appears that there is a nice blanket of snow everywhere. The road is in great shape, there are only a few icy spots left.

Mountain Weather:

There is a chance of the inversion redeveloping in some of the valleys. Hopefully this will stay away from the Skyline region.

Today: Mostly sunny. Highs at 8,000’ will be around 30.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows at 8,000’ will be around 15-20 degrees.

Sunday: Partly cloudy. Highs will be in the mid 30’s.

The winds should be generally light out of the west this weekend and the next chance of snow is going to be on Monday night and Tuesday. Lets keep out fingers crossed.

Avalanche Conditions:

The above normal temperatures we experienced last week are over, but the high pressure system is still persisting. The January thaw is still upon us. The good news is that we haven’t observed any new avalanches since the beginning of January and the colder temperatures we have had in the past week has stopped point releases on sunny aspects from occurring. Expect sun crusts today on sunny aspects and some consolidated powder on shady aspects. We are in a wait and see mode currently, the question is going to be how will the next snow bond to the current snow surface. For today I am going to rate the overall hazard rating at LOW with pockets of MODERATE on cold, shady, wind loaded slopes greater than 35 degrees. Remember that a MODERATE rating still means that human triggered avalanches are possible and still to use extra caution when riding in avalanche terrain. Do not let your guard down! Expose only one person at a time to the hazard, i.e. avalanche terrain. Always travel safely in the backcountry.

Public Announcements:

We have some great classes coming your way in January! And we just set one up in Ephraim in February! Take a look at our Education link on the main page. If you want to schedule a free avalanche awareness class for your snowmobile club, please call us at 435.636.3363 or leave an email at [email protected]. We are still looking for observers for the Wasatch Plateau/Skyline region. The more information we can gather, the better this advisory can be.