Road Conditions: Grand County will be plowing the road this morning. The gate will be closed while plowing is in progress.
Grooming: The Geyser Pass Road above the winter trailhead closes on Dec 15. Grooming will commence after that, but but for now, the road above the trailhead is snowpacked and well traveled and cross country ski conditions are pretty good.
Join us for the
1st Annual UAC Moab/LUNA Winter Kickoff Party on Saturday, Dec 10 at the MARC. The event will be from 7-9 PM. Get your
tickets here.
The Utah Avalanche Center wants to give you free batteries for your beacons. Head on over to Moab Gear Trader to pick up your free batteries. While you are there, scan a QR code to fill out a quick survey and be entered to win some avalanche rescue gear.
Join the Utah Avalanche Center and the Division of Outdoor Recreation to celebrate the
Fourth Annual Avalanche Awareness Week, from December 4 - December 11. Click
HERE to view a full list of events throughout the state.
24 Hour Snow 9" 72 Hour Snow 14" Season Total Snow 55" Base Depth at Gold Basin 36"
Winds on Pre Laurel Peak W 5-10 Temp 15F
Winter has arrived with 14" of snow at around 1.5" Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) over the past 48 hours. Moderate southerly winds blew during the bulk of the storm. Today will be a gorgeous day in the mountains with fresh powder, sunny skies, light westerly winds, and high temps in the upper teens. We should see some clouds develop tonight and lingering into tomorrow as a weak, shortwave trough clips by to the north. Saturday will be mostly sunny. The next storm to affect our region begins to move in on Sunday with what looks like a decent shot of snow Sun night into Mon.
Snow depth has reached the magic number of 36" in Gold Basin which for me, signals a tentative move toward real skiing and riding. Erratic winds last week however, alternately stripped many slopes while loading others so the pattern of coverage is very uneven and many areas remain quite thin. The entire snowpack beneath the Nov 28 storm is loose, weak, and faceted and we now have 18" - 20" of snow sitting on top of that with considerably more in wind drifted areas. This translates to a poor snowpack structure and unstable snow conditions that will be with us for some time. In my
travels yesterday, the snowpack was not yet talking to me and I wasn't observing the obvious signs of instability such as cracking, collapsing, or whumphing, but with the obvious poor structure, and continued snowfall, I felt we were teetering on the brink. The additional snowfall overnight should have pushed us over the edge.
If you are getting up into the mountains please
submit an observation and let us know what you are seeing!
A list of avalanches for the La Sal Range can be viewed
here