Annual Reports of the L.S.A.F.C:

1992-3 ~ 1993-4 ~ 1994-5 ~ 1995-6 ~ 1996-7 ~ 1997-8 ~ 1998-9 ~ 1999-00 ~ 2000-01

1992-3 SEASON:

ANNUAL REPORT 1992-1993
PREPARED BY DAVID A. MEDARA

      THE 1992-1993 SEASON WAS A BIT ON THE STRANGE SIDE AT THE LASAL AVALANCHE FORECAST CENTER (LSAFC) AS I DIDN'T ARRIVE ON THE SCENE UNTIL JANUARY 4, 1993 AND THE WINTER WAS WELL UNDERWAY. WHEN I ARRIVED, I FOUND THE SCARIEST DEPTH HOAR SNOWPACK I'VE EVER SEEN, IN SOME OF THE WINDIEST MOUNTAINS I'VE EVER SEEN. THEN IT STARTED TO DUMP...HARD. WE IMMEDIATELY HAD THE SINGLE LARGEST SNOWFALL IN THE HISTORY OF THE LSAFC (22" AT 9600', VERY LOW IN THE LASALS) AND THINGS GOT WILD REALLY FAST. THE TONE FOR MY EARLY SEASON WAS SET WHEN I TRIPPED OFF A CLASS 5 SLIDE ON THE NE FACE OF PRE-LAUREL PEAK WALKING ON THE RIDGE. THE HARD SLAB HAD A CROWN NEARLY 8' TALL IN PLACES AND AVERAGED 5' DEEP AND WAS OVER A HALF MILE WIDE. TALK ABOUT YOUR EGO CUTS! I DIDN'T THINK ANYONE WOULD EVEN BELIEVE THIS ONE. THIS SLIDE CYCLE WAS THE BIGGEST OF THE YEAR AND SEVERAL CLASS 4-5 AVALANCHES WERE RECORDED. AN AREA THE SIZE OF A FOOTBALL FIELD WAS CLEARED OF 10-20" DIAMETER SPRUCES BY A SLIDE IN HORSE CANYON.

      THE FIRST FEW WEEKS DOWN HERE WERE CRAZY AND I HOPPED ON THE STEEPEST LEARNING CURVE I'VE EVER BEEN ON, INGESTING ALL THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE LASAL MTN. SNOWPACK, COMPUTERS AND WEATHER FORECASTING I COULD GET MY HANDS ON. CRAIG BIGLER WAS ON HAND TO HELP GUIDE ME AROUND THE RANGE, (I'D ONLY SKIED THE LASALS TWICE BEFORE) WHICH WAS FORTUNATE BECAUSE I NEVER SAW THE PEAKS FOR THE FIRST TWO WEEKS DUE TO CONSTANT CLOUD COVER. BRUCE TREMPER WAS AROUND TO KEEP ME SANE IN THE OFFICE WHILE I FLOUNDERED THROUGH COMPUTER 101. I DUG MANY PITS AND WALKED MANY MILES, OCCASIONALLY GETTING GLANCES AT THE BIG NORTH FACES OVER GOLD BASIN. THEY ARE AWESOME, INVITING AND SCARY. I WONDERED IF I'D BE ABLE TO SKI ANY BIG STUFF BEFORE APRIL....

      THE SITUATION FINALLY BEGAN TO MELLOW OUT IN MID FEBRUARY WHEN A HEAVY, WET SNOWSTORM ON THE 19TH STUCK IN THERE HARD AND SEEMED TO HEAL UP THE SNOWPACK SIGNIFICANTLY. AT LEAST WE WERE DEALING WITH NEW SNOW AVALANCHES NOW. I WAS ALSO STARTING TO DEVELOP A BETTER ROUTINE AND THE 12 HOUR DAYS WERE BECOMING FEWER. I TEAMED UP WITH MY ROOMMATE, LU WARNER, FOR SOME SERIOUS EXPLORATION OF THE SOUTHERN MASSIF AND WE HAD SOME INCREDIBLE DAYS OF TRUE ADVENTURE SKIING. CONCLUSION: THE SOUTHERN MASSIF IS WHERE TO SKI POWDER IN THE LASALS.

      A RELATIVELY DRY MONTH OF MARCH GAVE US A NICE CORN CYCLE UNTIL THE SNOW KICKED IN AGAIN AT THE END OF THE MONTH. IT WAS POSSIBLE TO SKI GREAT CORN AND POWDER IN THE SAME DAY IN UPPER GOLD BASIN. PRIME TIME IN THE LASALS. LATE SEASON SNOWFALL ENDED THE CORN FOR THE REST OF THE OFFICIAL SEASON BUT THERE WILL BE PLENTY, PROBABLY LASTING INTO JULY, FOR THE DEVOTED SKIER.

THIS YEAR STARTED LATE AND THE WHOLE PROGRAM WAS NEW TO ME WHEN I ARRIVED. COMING IN ON THE HEELS OF LAST YEAR'S ACCIDENT WAS A BIT STRANGE, BUT THE COMMUNITY WAS TOTALLY SUPPORTIVE WITHOUT EXCEPTION. I'VE TRIED TO INCORPORATE ALL OF THE MESSAGE CONTENT THE LOCAL SKIERS (AND RANCHERS!) HAVE BECOME USED TO IN THE LAST 5 YEARS. INFORMATION ON AVALANCHE HAZARDS AND MOUNTAIN WEATHER, SNOW AND WATER TOTALS (INCLUDING % OF NORMAL FOR THE RANCHERS), SKI CONDITIONS, ROAD CONDITIONS TO TRAILHEADS, AND COMMUNITY SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS REGARDING WINTER RECREATION AND THE RESCUE TEAM.

      WHILE THE ADVISORY CONTENT HASN'T CHANGED MUCH, HERE AT THE CENTER WE'VE INITIATED SOME BIG CHANGES. COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY HAS BEEN INTRODUCED TO THE PROGRAM. COMPUTERIZED PRINTOUTS OF SNOWPITS AND WEATHER GRAPHS NOW DECORATE THE WALLS OF MY OFFICE. I CAN CALL UP THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COMPUTER TO RECEIVE ZONE FORECASTS, SATELLITE IMAGES AND OTHER FORECASTING TOOLS VIA TELEPHONE LINES. NO MORE N.O.A.A. WEATHER RADIO.....I CAN ALSO COMMUNICATE WITH A NEW WEATHER STATION WE'VE INSTALLED AT 11,600 FT. ON PRE-LAUREL PEAK IN THE CENTRAL MASSIF. THIS ALLOWS ME TO ACCESS CURRENT AND OVERNIGHT WEATHER DATA AT A REMOTE SITE IN THE MOUNTAINS. I CAN CALL THE STATION FROM MY OFFICE HERE IN MOAB VIA RADIO TELEMETRY, A WONDERFUL HIGH-TECH ADVANCEMENT, WHEN IT WORKS....WEATHER STATIONS ALSO MAKE, I HAVE RECENTLY DISCOVERED, GREAT SUMMER REPAIR PROJECTS. A LATE BUT WELCOME ARRIVAL AT THE CENTER WAS THE SNOWLINK DATABASE SOFTWARE WHICH HAS MADE MY RECORD KEEPING AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS SIMPLER AND BETTER. HAT'S OFF TO DAN JUDD FOR WRITING SUCH A FINE PACKAGE.

      WEATHER WISE, IT WAS LIKE MOST EVERYWHERE ELSE IN THE WESTERN U.S., A BIG SNOW YEAR. WE WERE A LITTLE ABOVE NORMAL WHEN I ARRIVED JUST AFTER THE NEW YEAR BEGAN, BUT JANUARY AND FEBRUARY SNOWFALL CHANGED ALL THAT. EVEN WITH A RELATIVELY DRY MARCH, SNOWPACK LEVELS WERE WELL ABOVE AVERAGE. EARLY APRIL SNOWFALL BROUGHT US BACK UP TO ABOUT 175% OF NORMAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR. DETAILED WEATHER, AVALANCHE, SNOWSTAKE AND WATER REPORTS ARE ATTACHED.

      OUR USAGE NUMBERS WERE DOWN THIS YEAR FROM TWO YEARS AGO (NO STATS ARE AVAILABLE FOR LAST YEAR), BUT CALLS IN TO THE CENTER SEEMED TO BE MAINTAINING AT ABOUT THE SAME LEVEL. PART OF THE DECREASE MIGHT BE DUE TO THE BIG YEAR AT THE SKI RESORTS AND AN UNDERSTANDABLE HESITATION TO DRIVE VERY FAR TO SKI WHEN IT'S SO GOOD AT HOME. MORE DETAILED REPORTS ON TRAILHEAD USAGE AND CALL-INS ARE ATTACHED.

      MEDIA CONTACTS WERE MADE THROUGHOUT THE WINTER. CRAIG BIGLER WAS INTERVIEWED BY CHANNEL 4 IN SALT LAKE CITY, REGARDING HIS RECOVERY FROM LAST YEAR'S TRAGEDY. I WAS INTERVIEWED SEVERAL TIMES BY THE LOCAL MOAB TELEVISION STATION AND WAS FEATURED IN A SHORT AVALANCHE AWARENESS VIDEO THAT WAS AIRED ON THE LOCAL NEWS FOR A FEW NIGHTS. MY BOSS, PAT SPAHR, WAS ALSO DRAGGED IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS WHEN I WAS NOT AVAILABLE. WAY TO BE PAT...

      AS THE PRIMARY MISSION OF OUR AVALANCHE FORECAST CENTERS IS COMMUNITY EDUCATION, SOME OF MY DAYS THIS WINTER WERE SPENT TEACHING LOCAL FOLKS AVALANCHE SAFETY AND RESCUE SKILLS. ON JANUARY 16TH, I TEAMED UP WITH CFI/GLOBAL EXP. TO TEACH A CLASS IN THE LASAL MTNS. BRUCE TREMPER JOINED US FOR A TWO DAY CLASS FEBRUARY 19TH AND 20TH. ONE EVENING WAS SPENT IN THE CLASSROOM AND THE FOLLOWING DAY WAS SPENT IN THE FIELD, SOUTH OF MOAB, IN THE ABAJO MOUNTAINS. ON JAN. 24TH, A FULL SCALE RESCUE DRILL WAS HELD ABOVE THE GEYSER PASS TRAILHEAD FOR THE S.E. UTAH WINTER HASTY TEAM. THE AVALANCHE AWARENESS VIDEO DISCUSSED ABOVE WAS FILMED AND EDITED IN EARLY MARCH.

      IT IS WORTH NOTING THAT THERE WAS NOT A SINGLE REPORTED AVALANCHE ACCIDENT IN THE LASALS THIS WINTER. THE ACCIDENT LAST YEAR HAS CAUSED THE LOCAL COMMUNITY TO SKI VERY CONSERVATIVELY THIS YEAR, MYSELF INCLUDED.

      FINALLY I WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLKS WHO HELPED ME THROUGH MY FIRST YEAR HERE AT THE LSAFC. PAT SPAHR, MY SUPERVISOR, AND EVERYONE ELSE HERE AT THE MOAB RANGER DISTRICT HAVE BEEN VERY SUPPORTIVE. BRUCE TREMPER, MY UNOFFICIAL BOSS FROM THE UTAH AVALANCHE FORECAST CENTER HELPED ME SORT THROUGH THE MESS AND PUT THE PROGRAM TOGETHER. CRAIG BIGLER PROVED TO BE A FINE WEATHER STATION SHERPA AND TOURING COMPANION THIS WINTER, HIS TOILS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED. SPECIAL THANKS GO OUT TO RAINEE GUYMON AND JIM HART OF THE B.L.M., WITHOUT THEIR HELP THE WEATHER STATION WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED. OOPS, ONE MORE, IT WOULD NOT BE FAIR TO EXCLUDE THE FRIENDS OF THE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER, WITHOUT THIS NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION, IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO RUN OUR FORECAST CENTERS.

1993-4 SEASON:

ANNUAL REPORT 1993-1994
PREPARED BY DAVID A. MEDARA

      THE 1992-1993 SEASON WAS A YEAR OF LEARNING FOR ME AND A YEAR OF GREAT INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE HERE AT THE L.S.A.F.C. THIS SEASON THE CHANGES WERE OF A LITTLE DIFFERENT NATURE.

      WHEN I ARRIVED ON NOVEMBER FIRST, I FOUND OUT THAT THE L.S.A.F.C HAD BEEN DROPPED BY THE FRIENDS OF THE UTAH AVALANCHE FORECAST CENTER (U.A.F.C), A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION DESIGNED TO SMOOTH OUT FLUCTUATIONS IN GOVERNMENT FUNDING FOR THE UTAH AVALANCHE FORECAST CENTER IN SALT LAKE. THIS MEANT THAT WE NO LONGER HAD FUNDING FOR THE CENTER'S PART-TIME EMPLOYEE, OUR COMPUTER, OR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT FOR THE WEATHER STATION WE SET UP LAST YEAR, ALL THINGS PREVIOUSLY PAID FOR BY THE FRIENDS. SURPRISE!

      WE WERE ALL BUT SHUT DOWN, OR SOME DRASTIC CHANGES IN THE WAY WE OPERATE. WE NEEDED TO DO SOME SERIOUS FUND RAISING. FUND-RAISING EFFORTS BEGAN THROUGH A CONTACT MADE WITH PETER LAWSON AND THE QUINNEY FOUNDATION WHO DONATED $2000 DOLLARS TO HELP KEEP THE CENTER AFLOAT. WILLIAM LEVITT, THE MAYOR OF THE TOWN OF ALTA, IN ADDITION TO DONATING PRIVATELY, LOBBIED THE S.L. COUNTY COUNCIL OF GOVTS. TO HELP FUND THE FRIENDS OF THE U.A.F.C. TO THE TUNE OF $20,000, AT WHICH POINT THE FRIENDS OF THE U.A.F.C. DECIDED THAT THEY WOULD MATCH ALL MONIES RAISED FOR THE L.S.A.F.C. DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR, UP TO $2500. THINGS WERE BEGINNING TO IMPROVE IN A FICKLE WORLD. A BENEFIT PARTY WAS HELD FOR THE CENTER AT THE POPLAR PLACE AND DONATIONS FROM GRAND COUNTY AND MOAB LOCALS HELPED US OUT EVEN FURTHER. A BUSY MONTH OF NOVEMBER HAD PAID OFF AND WE NOW HAD THE FUNDING INTACT TO OPERATE THE CENTER AT THE LEVEL OF SERVICES OFFERED IN THE PAST WITH A LITTLE LEFT FOR NEW EQUIPMENT. MESSAGE CONTENT INCLUDES AVALANCHE CONDITIONS, SNOW AND WATER TOTALS, SKI AND ROAD CONDITIONS, S.E. UTAH WEATHER, SKI CLUB INFO, RESCUE TEAM MEETINGS AND COMMUNITY EDUCATION ANNOUNCEMENTS.

      FORTUNATELY, NOVEMBER WAS A DRY MONTH, LEAVING ME WITH MORE TIME FOR FUND-RAISING ACTIVITIES AND LESS TO WORRY ABOUT IN THE MOUNTAINS. IT ONLY SNOWED 21 INCHES THAT MONTH. AND THE SNOWSTAKE AT 9600FT READ ONLY 14" AT MONTH'S END. WE OPENED THE CENTER FULL-TIME THANKSGIVING WEEKEND WITH FORECASTS BEING ISSUED AT LEAST 5 DAYS A WEEK, MORE FREQUENTLY DURING STORM CYCLES. EVEN WITH ONLY 21" OF NEW SNOW AT THE 9600FT LEVEL, WINDS AND GREATER SNOWFALL TOTALS AT THE UPPER ELEVATIONS COMBINED TO PRODUCE AT LEAST 5 OBSERVED AVALANCHES ON HIGH ELEVATION NORTH FACES IN THE MIDDLE GROUP OF THE RANGE, INCLUDING A SKIER RELEASE INTO HORSE CANYON.

      ONCE DECEMBER ROLLED AROUND THE DUST SETTLED A BIT BUT THE SNOWPACK WAS GOING FROM BAD TO WORSE. THE FACETED GRAINS WERE NEARLY FULL-DEPTH ON ALL ASPECTS (EVEN BETWEEN SUNCRUSTS ON SOUTH FACING SLOPES) SO WHEN WE FINALLY DID GET SOME SNOW ON THE 13TH (14" AT 9600 FT) WE HAD A PRETTY MAJOR SLIDE CYCLE. NO ONE WAS GOING NEAR ANY OF THE NORTH FACES AND WITH GOOD REASON. YOU COULD PLANT YOUR POLE TO THE GROUND ALMOST ANYWHERE AND THE SNOWPACK "WHOOMPED" WHEREVER YOU WENT. SNOWPITS AND RUTSCHBLOCK TESTS WERE VERY UNNERVING. THE AVALANCHE HAZARD WAS HIGH ON NORTH FACING SLOPES FOR MOST OF THE MONTH.

      BUREAUCRATIC CHALLENGES BEGAN AGAIN IN DECEMBER WHEN I FOUND OUT THAT THE FRIENDS OF THE U.A.F.C WOULD NO LONGER BE ABLE TO PAY FOR THE ASSISTANT POSITION HERE AT THE L.S.A.F.C. AS A PRIVATE CONTRACTOR. WE WOULD HAVE TO MAKE MY NEWLY HIRED ASSISTANT, BRIAN MURRAY, A FOREST SERVICE EMPLOYEE AND GET THE MONEY THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN PAID TO HIM BY THE FRIENDS DONATED TO THE FOREST SERVICE. MORE HOOPS TO JUMP THROUGH...WE HAD TO CREATE A NEW FOREST SERVICE POSITION (NO EASY TASK!) AND MUDDLE THROUGH MORE PAPERWORK TO REACH A COST-SHARE AGREEMENT WITH THE FRIENDS TO HELP PAY FOR THE CENTER'S EXPENSES, INCLUDING BRIAN. AFTER GOING THROUGH THE GOVERNMENT HIRING PROCESS - WHICH LEFT US WITH A REAL POSSIBILITY OF BRIAN BEING DISPLACED BY A VETERAN WITH HIRING PREFERENCES - MR. MURRAY WAS INDEED HIRED FOR THE SECOND TIME THIS SEASON. THIS TIME AS A FOREST SERVICE EMPLOYEE, NETTING HIM A RAISE AND WORKER'S COMPENSATION PROTECTION. NOT A BAD DEAL.

      JANUARY WAS BONE DRY, AND WE WENT WITHOUT PRECIPITATION UNTIL THE 26TH OF THE MONTH. NOT MUCH GOING ON IN THE AVALANCHE REALM, BUT LOTS GOING ON IN THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT. EITHER MYSELF OR BRIAN WERE ON HAND TO HELP OUT WITH TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR THE S.E. UTAH HASTY RESCUE TEAM EVERY WEEKEND OF THE MONTH OF JANUARY. BEACON DRILLS AND RESCUE PROTOCOLS WERE THE MAIN TOPICS OF THE WEEKEND SESSIONS AND A FULL-SCALE RESCUE DRILL WAS HELD FOR THE HASTY TEAM THE LAST WEEKEND OF THE MONTH. FOR ANYONE CAUGHT IN A SLIDE OR OTHERWISE INJURED IN THE LASAL MOUNTAINS, THE HASTY TEAM PROVIDES THE ALTERNATIVE TO SELF-RESCUE. I ALSO TRAVELED TO ALTA, UT., IN MID-JANUARY TO HELP OUT WITH A THREE-DAY AVALANCHE COURSE BEING TAUGHT BY THE U.A.F.C IN THE WASATCH. THIS WAS A GREAT LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR ME AS SOME EXPERIENCED AVALANCHE INSTRUCTORS WERE ON HAND TO DO THEIR STUFF AND SHOW THAT A NUBILE AVALANCHE PROFESSIONAL LIKE MYSELF HAS A LOT TO LEARN....

      WHEN THE SNOW FINALLY FELL AGAIN AFTER NEARLY A MONTH OF DRY WEATHER, IT FELL ONTO A SNOWPACK TO RIVAL THE MOST ROTTEN THAT COLORADO HAS EVER SEEN. THE SLIDES BEGAN TO RUN ON THE 27TH OF JAN. FOLLOWING A 22" (THE FULL JAN. TOTAL!) DUMP AND CONTINUED THROUGHOUT THE SNOWY MONTH OF FEBRUARY (51" SNOW, 5.2" H2O) . MANY CLIMAX AVALANCHES OCCURRED, MOST NOTABLY A LARGE SKIER RELEASE NEAR SOUTH MOUNTAIN ON THE 19TH THAT WAS 4-6 FEET DEEP. THIS AVALANCHE NEARLY "GREASED" A GROUP OF VISITING SKIERS INCLUDING A SKI PATROLLER FROM THE WASATCH. IT TOOK OUT THEIR SKIN TRACK AND TWO RUNS THE GROUP HAD ALREADY MADE. ANOTHER INCIDENT INVOLVING SOME SALT LAKE CITY SKIERS OCCURRED AT THE END OF THE MONTH. UNLIKE LAST YEAR, THE SNOWPACK WAS NOT GAINING STRENGTH THIS YEAR AS THE WINTER PROGRESSED. LESS SNOW, LOTS OF WIND AND TOO MANY COLD, CLEAR NIGHTS ALL COMBINED TO MAKE THE LASAL SNOWPACK A LAYERED, ROTTEN, FACETED GRAIN MESS, HORRIFICALLY INCONSISTENT, WITH EXTREMELY LONG-LASTING INSTABILITY POSSIBLE. THE AVALANCHE HAZARD WAS AGAIN HIGH FOR MOST OF THE MONTH. INCREASING VISITATION, ESPECIALLY FROM SALT LAKE AREA SKIERS MORE ACCUSTOMED TO A STABLE SNOWPACK, ARE GOING TO BRING ABOUT AN INCREASE IN AVALANCHE INCIDENTS SUCH AS THESE.

      ALSO IN FEBRUARY, AT LOWER ELEVATIONS, WE ESTABLISHED A SUB-BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE FRIENDS OF THE UTAH AVALANCHE FORECAST CENTER DOWN HERE IN MOAB. A BRANCH OF THE NON-PROFIT FRIENDS OF THE U.A.F.C., THIS SUB-BOARD WAS CREATED TO GIVE US SOME AUTONOMY DOWN HERE WITH FUNDS RAISED FOR THE L.S.A.F.C. AN ACCOUNT WAS ESTABLISHED HERE IN MOAB SO THAT ALL CHECKS FOR EXPENDITURES WOULD NOT HAVE TO COME FROM SALT LAKE. THE SUB-BOARD ADMINISTERS THIS ACCOUNT, APPROVING ANY OUTLAYS AND ELIMINATING A DRAWN-OUT PROCESS OF GETTING APPROVAL FOR EXPENDITURES FROM SALT LAKE. WITH THIS MECHANISM IN PLACE, WE ARE READY TO DO A MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE JOB FUND-RAISING, WHICH IN THE FUTURE WILL BE PART OF KEEPING AVALANCHE FORECAST CENTERS IN UTAH OPERATIONAL. STEVE RUSSELL, JOHN LEWIS AND THE FAMOUS CRAIG BIGLER HAVE VOLUNTEERED TO MAN THE SUB-BOARD FOR THIS YEAR AND WE WELCOME THEIR HELP HERE AT THE L.S.A.F.C. THE SUB-BOARD WILL SAVE ME MANY HOURS OF BUREAUCRATIC HOOP-JUMPING AND HELP ORGANIZE FUND-RAISING ACTIVITIES FOR NEXT YEAR.

      MARCH WAS THE MONTH I'D BEEN DREAMING ABOUT ALL SEASON. WITH THE SUN HIGH IN THE SKY THE SNOWPACK FINALLY BEGAN TO HEAL UP, THE DEEP SLAB INSTABILITY OF MID-WINTER GAVE WAY TO GREAT CORN SKIING ON THE BIG SOUTH FACES OF THE LASALS. IT WAS FINALLY SAFE TO GO OUT ON SOMETHING STEEP THAT WOULD OFFER DECENT SKIING, SOMETHING WE'D BEEN DENIED MOST OF THE SEASON HERE IN THE LASALS. WARM DAYS AND GREAT NIGHTLY FREEZES PRODUCED TREMENDOUS CORN SKIING THAT WE HARDLY SAW UNTIL JUNE LAST YEAR. MARCH WAS A VERY DRY MONTH (16" SNOW, 1.6" WATER), AND WITH THE BUREAUCRATIC GRAPPLING MOSTLY DEALT WITH, IT WAS NICE TO RELAX AND GET SOME GOOD TURNS IN. THE LASALS ARE TRULY AN UNBELIEVABLE RANGE TO SKI IN WHEN THE SNOW IS GOOD AND THE AVALANCHE HAZARDS ARE ACCEPTABLE.

      APRIL STORMS ENDED THE CORN SKIING UNTIL THE END OF THE FORECAST SEASON AND BOOSTED OUR SNOWPACK TOTALS UP TO 100% OF NORMAL AFTER HOVERING AROUND THE 75% MARK ALL WINTER. THIS COMPARES TO 175% OF NORMAL AT THIS TIME LAST YEAR. THE BIGGEST STORM OF THE YEAR BLEW IN ON THE 7TH RIGHT ON THE HEELS OF A SMALLER STORM MAKING FOR A WET MONTH SO FAR AND INSURING CORN SKIING WELL INTO MAY (AS OF APRIL 15TH, 40" SNOW, 4.8" WATER, CURRENTLY DUMPING). ALL IN ALL THIS HAS BEEN REPRESENTATIVE OF A RELATIVELY NORMAL WATER YEAR IN THE LASALS, WHERE LARGE FLUCTUATIONS IN THE PERCENTAGE OF NORMAL FIGURE CAN RESULT FROM A SINGLE STORM. WE'VE RECEIVED 200.5" OF SNOW AT THE GEYSER PASS TRAILHEAD (9600FT) WHICH IS GENERALLY QUITE A BIT LESS THAN WE RECEIVE AT UPPER ELEVATIONS AND ABOUT TWO-THIRDS OF WHAT WE RECEIVE AT GEYSER PASS OR LOWER GOLD BASIN SNOW STUDY PLOTS. THESE LAST TWO SITES UNFORTUNATELY ARE OFTEN DIFFICULT TO REACH. LAST YEAR FOR THE PERIOD BEGINNING OF JANUARY 4TH UNTIL APRIL 15TH WE RECEIVED A 184" OF SNOWFALL.

      WINTER RECREATION USE IN THE LASALS IS UP (SEE ACCOMPANYING STATS) AND THERE IS A CLEAR TREND TOWARDS INCREASING POPULARITY OF WINTER RECREATION IN THE LASAL MOUNTAINS. SIGN-IN'S AT THE TRAILHEADS ARE UP 20% OVER LAST YEAR. CALL-IN TOTALS ARE UP THIS YEAR AND COMMERCIAL OUTFITTERS WHO OPERATE ON THE FOREST IN THE WINTER ARE REPORTING LARGE INCREASES (60-200%) IN BOOKINGS IN THE HUT AND YURT SYSTEMS. IT IS NO SURPRISE THAT THE NUMBER OF HUMAN-TRIGGERED AVALANCHES INCREASED THIS YEAR. IT IS WORTH NOTING THAT ALL AVALANCHE INCIDENTS THIS YEAR OCCURRED WHEN THE AVALANCHE ADVISORY STATED THE DANGER OF A HUMAN TRIGGERED AVALANCHE WAS HIGH.

      OUR CONTACT WITH THE S.E. UTAH COMMUNITY WAS UP THIS YEAR WHILE BY CONTRAST OUR CONTACTS WITH THE LOCAL MEDIA WERE DOWN. EFFORTS TO PRODUCE A SHORT VIDEO WITH THE LOCAL NEWS STATION DIDN'T WORK OUT DUE TO CONFLICTING SCHEDULES AND THE WEEKLY INTERVIEW SEEMS TO HAVE TURNED BI-ANNUAL! ON THE UPSIDE, COMMUNITY EDUCATION AND TRAINING WERE INCREASED THIS YEAR, MOSTLY DUE TO INCREASED FLEXIBILITY AND AVAILABILITY OF (BOTH!) L.S.A.F.C STAFF MEMBERS. A BRIEF SUMMARY OF L.S.A.F.C. ACTIVITIES IS INCLUDED WITH THIS REPORT.

      IN CLOSING, I WILL HAVE TO THANK MANY FOR THEIR EFFORTS IN GETTING ME THROUGH MY SECOND SEASON HERE AT THE LSAFC. FIRST OF ALL IS BRIAN MURRAY, WHO PROVED TO BE AN UNBELIEVABLE AVALANCHE FORECASTER AND SKI COMPANION. HE HAS SURPASSED ALL MY EXPECTATIONS THIS YEAR. HOPEFULLY I WON'T HAVE TO FIGHT WITH THE SOLITUDE SKI AREA FOR HIS HELP NEXT YEAR. MY BOSS, JERRY SHAW, AND EVERYONE ELSE HERE AT THE MOAB RANGER DISTRICT HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL AND PATIENT THIS YEAR. THANKS FOR PUTTING UP WITH ME! ONCE AGAIN, SPECIAL THANKS GO OUT TO RAINEE GUYMON (THE GURU) AND JIM HARTE OF THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT FOR THEIR TECHNICAL SUPPORT WITH THE WEATHER STATION. LOUISE SCHULTZ, THE NEW TREASURER OF THE FRIENDS OF THE U.A.F.C., DID A GREAT JOB AND REALLY HELPED US OUT DOWN HERE AT THE L.S.A.F.C....THANK YOU! OF COURSE, NONE OF IT WOULD BE WITHOUT THE EFFORTS OF MARK YATES, FOUNDER OF THE L.S.A.F.C. I NOW UNDERSTAND THE MONUMENTAL EFFORT IT MUST HAVE TAKEN TO GET THIS PROGRAM STARTED. NEITHER MARK OR ANY OF THE OTHERS WHO PERISHED IN THE 1992 GOLD BASIN ACCIDENT WILL BE FORGOTTEN. WE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO WISH THE FORMER MARY YATES, NOW MARY GRIZZARD, THE BEST OF LUCK IN HER NEW MARRIAGE.

1994-5 SEASON:

ANNUAL REPORT 1994-1995
PREPARED BY DAVID A. MEDARA

      The 1994-1995 season was a year characterized by good skiing, a relatively stable snowpack, continuing advances in technology and community involvement, and finally major personnel changes for the L.S.A.F.C. We finished the year with 142% of normal snowfall for the season and an unseasonably cool spring, making for a snowpack that will last long into the summer. The boaters are happy as well as those hearty souls who are still skiing the high peaks of the La Sals as of this writing, in mid-June.

      November started out with it's typical early season madness. Fund-raising, administrative details, meetings in Salt Lake City, setting up weather stations and even a bit of forecasting (sometimes it's hard to remember that's what we do with all the distractions) all combine to make November the crux month by a long shot. Fortunately (unfortunately?) we did not have the massive november snow totals that the Wasatch mountains to our north had. This gave us the time we needed to deal with the previously mentioned details and gear up for the season. We issued forecasts intermittently for the month of november and got on-line full time after the Thanksgiving weekend. We finished up the month with 35" of total snowfall, and only 16" on our total stake at 9600 feet. Up high however, there was more snow and we had a pretty good avalanche cycle on the 20th, with 4 large class 2's or larger being recorded.

      December, usually the second busiest month of the season, was no exception this year. We had our annual fund-raising party at Club Rio this year with the Watusi Gurus from S.L.C. Providing the music. The first annual L.S.A.F.C. Ski and gear swap was held the same day and these events netted about $500 to help defray the costs of the avalanche forecast center. This year we tried to offer more educational programs to the public and the first one was an avalanche awareness talk given by Dave Medara at the Moab information center auditorium. General avalanche awareness was the main focus as well as introducing people to the LSAFC and encouraging those interested in seeking more information to attend the course we were offering the next month. There weren't enough seats in the small auditorium for all the attendees. The busy month was helped out with a surprisingly stable early season snowpack. We had not had phenomenal amounts of snow but what did fall was generally in heavy dense layers. This combined with periods of prolonged wet, cloudy weather yet only small amounts of snow left us with a relatively strong snowpack for most of the month. In contrast to the usual dry, rotten, faceted, nightmare snowpack we usually have at this time of year, things were looking "mighty northwestern" and the skiing was good. Looking at the snow totals for the month, they were low despite the wet weather. We finished the month with only 25 inches of snowfall at 9600 ft. A small avalanche cycle occurred early in the month but for the most part the snowpack was quiet and stable. The addition of weather brief, an on-line weather forecasting service based in S.L.C. helped improve the accuracy of the weather component of our forecast, that component being the toughest part of the forecast for most of December. Things were pretty mellow down here in the La Sals.

      January started out with both forecasters either sick or injured. The snowpack was still looking pretty stable and the down time gave Dave and Brian a chance to get ready for the avalanche class the we were holding on the 6th and 7th of the month. The class was very successful and drew interest from the Telluride area as well as the local Moab folks. Bruce Erickson, a very experienced and savvy backcountry skier from the San Juans in Colorado came over to help out with the class. Bruce was a big help, being really knowledgeable about the "colorado snowpack" and skiing conditions likely to be found in the La Sals. The field day for the class was pretty dramatic. Our lucky class got to experience one of the worst storms of the season. 21" of snow at 9600' coupled with winds up to 70 mph gave the class a real feel for worsening conditions. If the snowpits were showing instability, the new snow didn't care about it much. Despite all the huff and puff and new snow, not a single slab avalanche release was observed from this storm. So much for theory and historical expectations. The old snowpack was demonstrating much more strength than normal this year and continued to do so for the rest of the month. While our education continued, public education was also being furthered as Medara presented several avalanche awareness talks during the month. Several weekends of the month also saw either Medara or Murray at the Geyser pass trailhead working with the Southeast Utah Winter Rescue Team on avalanche and rescue drills. No significant avalanches were recorded until the end of the month following a 10 inch storm with plenty of SW winds. By month's end we received 41" snow at 9600 ft with only 2 class two slides being recorded for the entire month.

      February was a dry month. The lack of snow and great weather had folks around here thinking about mountain biking and rock climbing a bit more than skiing, even though we had a great corn cycle late in the month. The second week of the month brought us a little snow and a high hazard period mostly due to high winds. Our weather station was flattened by 120 mph winds on the 15th of the month. That was the only significant occurrence above treeline for the month of February, in this range at least. The nice weather at lower elevations and the corn cycle happening up high made for a relaxing month of stable snow and quality time in the desert. Ahh, the advantages of Moab.....We finished up the month with only 14 inches of new snow at 9600' for the whole month, but the rock-climbing was excellent.

      March was marked by significant changes. Winter returned with a vengeance and a couple of very large avalanche cycles occurred. In the face of the return of winter, the center's lead forecaster, Medara, resigned and fled back to the Wasatch where the snow is deep and jobs are not subject to the flighty whims of the federal government and the Manti-Lasal National Forest. Lack of job security with the Forest Service led Medara back home to the Wasatch and a forecasting job with the Utah Dept. of Transportation. After the dreamy month of February, it was a tough decision to leave but in the chase of the almighty dollar, job security won over desert playtime. Brian Murray reluctantly took over the reigns of the forecast center, giving up the best job in southern Utah, the assistant forecaster's position. The center was now operating on a reduced schedule, with forecasts only being issued 3-4 days a week as Brian did not have time to run the center on a full-time basis. Mother Nature wasted no time putting him to the test. 22" of snow and 2" of water at 9600' over the 4th and 5th resulted in the largest avalanche cycle of the year for most of the southwest, including the La Sals. Several class 4 and 5 avalanches were observed in Gold Basin, the largest being a class 5 wall to wall slide in Talking Mountain Cirque that was 3-6 ft deep and 5000 ft wide. Talking Mountain Cirque is the site of the 1992 accident that claimed the lives of 4 skiers. March was a relatively wet month in the La Sals and 2 more avalanche cycles occurred before the calendar was flipped to april. Snow totals for march were 71" at 9600', making it the snowiest and most active month of the season.

      While snowfall amounts were not dramatic, stormy wet weather characterized the month of April in the La Sals. Like most other places in the west, the snow just kept coming in little dribbles, at least here the sun made it out enough to get melt-freeze cycles going. Good corn skiing was being reported on a wide variety of aspects and elevations throughout the range. A little wet slide activity was observed, but nothing unusual or overly large. With the light snowfalls, the center coasted through the final weeks very casually. When Brian closed up shop on 18th we'd received only 11 inches of new snow at 9600' and there was still a lot of skier traffic going on. The snowpack was very consolidated and deep by this time and the more adventurous were starting to venture out on to the more dramatic lines the La Sals have to offer the thrill-seeking skier.

      As of this writing the future of the LSAFC remains uncertain. Funding for all federal entities is very uncertain and avalanche forecast centers are not a high priority, especially on more traditional land use forests such as the Manti-Lasal. The Moab district remains committed to keeping the center alive, at least on a part-time basis. The addition of a remote snow sensor to the program this year will make it more reasonable to do the forecasts from town, eliminating the sometimes 2 hour drive time needed to reach the trailheads and return. This will help reduce manpower needs and save money, which will probably have to happen if the center is going to stay in operation. Given the current political climate, budget cuts seem inevitable, but with continued support from the district, the Friends of the LSAFC and the people and skiers of Moab, the forecast center will continue to provide it's services to the skiers and winter recreationists of SE Utah. User numbers appear to be about the same as last year in the La Sals. Dark Canyon and La Sal Pass Sign-ins were not kept this year and the Geyser register was not kept stocked due to lack of manpower late in the season but the Geyser Trailhead sign-in's are just about the same as last year despite the lack of sign-in sheets. For this reason a user stats report is not included this year.

      Once again, it is time to thank all those who helped us out this year. Brian Murray, (who should be writing this report!) is the greatest ski companion a guy could want and a really good avalanche forecaster. I hope he takes over the center next year and does great things. Rainee Guymon (the Wizard - you'll be rich when Campbell Scientific discovers you!) and Jim Harte from the BLM here in Moab once again provided invaluable technical support for our telecommunications equipment. Everyone on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Lasal Avalanche Forecast Center - Thanks for your support this winter, especially when I was late for the meetings I'd force you guys to attend. Peter Lawson, our silent benefactor in Professor Valley, the LSAFC wouldn't be here without your interest, thanks! Bill Levitt, the mayor of the town of Alta, must be thanked for his continued lobbying at the state level for avalanche funding and his personal interest in our well-being. Don Oblak, Brett Sutteer, Carrie Howard and everyone else who helped us out with fund-raising activities this winter, thanks for your time everyone! Keep your fingers crossed.......