Sign Up for the Utah Snow and Avalanche Workshop (USAW) on December 7th!
Ad
The National Forest Service Logo
icon-add Observation
Forecasts
Logan Ogden Salt Lake Provo Uintas Skyline Moab Abajos Weather Archives How to read the forecast
Observations & Avalanches
Submit Observation Observations Explorer All Observations Avalanches Fatalities Place Names Map Archives
Education
Avalanche Awareness Develop Skills On-Snow Courses Resources and Tutorials
Events
Store
About
Contact Who we are Core Values Staff Board of Directors Past Forecasters Sponsors Annual Reports Sign In
Blog
icon-add Observation
Donate / Join

Forecast for the Abajos Area Mountains

Eric Trenbeath
Issued by Eric Trenbeath on
Saturday morning, January 13, 2024
Dangerous conditons exist in the Abajo Mountains and human triggered avalanches, failing on a buried weak layer of sugary, faceted snow are likely on steep, northerly facing slopes. Human triggered avalanches involving unstable slabs of wind drifted snow are possible on all aspects. Wind slabs form on the leeward sides of ridge crests and terrain features such as gully walls and subridges. They are often recognizable by their smooth, rounded appearance, and cracking is a sign of instability. Avoid steep slopes that have recent deposits of wind drifted snow.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
Learn how to read the forecast here
Special Announcements
Sign up for our Backcountry 101 course in the La Sal Mountains on Jan 19, 20!
Weather and Snow
The Abajo Mountains picked up more than 2' of snow over the past week. The underlying snowpack is very weak consisting of loose, sugary, faceted snow. The most recent storm snow has now settled into a cohesive slab over top of the weak, sugary snow underneath creating the perfect recipe for human triggered avalanches. The danger is greatest on steep, northerly facing slopes and human triggered avalanches are likely in these areas. Shifting strong winds over the past several days have also created unstable slabs of wind drifted snow. Wind slabs form on the leeward sides of ridge crests and terrain features such as gully walls and subridges. They are often recognizable by their smooth, rounded appearance, and cracking is a sign of instability. Avoid steep slopes that have recent deposits of wind drifted snow.
NWS forecast for the Abajo Mountains.
Snow totals and temps at Buckboard Flat (8924')
Snow totals and temps at Camp Jackson (8858')
Additional Information
The snowpit below was dug on a northeast aspect just below North Creek Pass on December 31, it shows a very weak, underlying snowpack of loose, sugary, faceted snow with the storm snow of December 23, on top. For now, all layers are soft. The most recent storm has piled 2' of new snow on top of this weak set up, and this is exactly what we need for avalanches to happen.
The entire snowpack, including the top layer of the most recent storm snow is soft, and is lacking a slab. We call this stable but weak.
This photo illustrates large, non-cohesive, sugary facets from the base of the snowpack.
General Announcements
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.
< Previous forecast
Next forecast >