Weather in Moab
Temperatures are rising and stoke is rising with it. It’s hitting the sweet spot for weather in Moab between not too hot and not too cold lately, and The Moab Gear Trader team has been out enjoying the sunshine and getting after it in the desert. We hope everyone has gotten a chance to thrive in the sunshine. We will have a return of dreary weather this week, but hopefully, we will return to these brilliant conditions soon.
Road Conditions
It’s been much more comfortable to access the Geyser Pass trailhead this week than it has been earlier this winter. The La Sal Loop Rd is clear of ice and snow, and the Geyser Pass rd is mostly clear, though there is still slush and ice in spots. As always, please use caution in areas that may still show signs of winter conditions. Always be prepared when traveling on remote roads by carrying extra food and water, blankets, and other emergency supplies. Please check-in with the Utah Avalanche Center or up to date road information.
Storm Totals This Week
Overall, it’s been a relatively dry week for snowfall in Colorado and Utah. The winner this week is Crested Butte with 14″ of new snow over the last ten days. It’s been an average season for Utah. Brighton is currently at 104% of the average snowpack, according to SNOTEL Data. Southern Colorado is struggling a bit, but some places such as Red Mountain Pass are currently seeing 102% of Average at 11,200 ft. Other areas at lower elevations have seen significantly lower snowpacks, among the lowest are 67% at Lone Cone weather station. If you’re interested in checking out more fun snow data, the USDA Interactive Map is a blast to click through.
All in all, we should consider ourselves lucky with the snowpack we currently possess. Click over westward-bound on that USDA map and check out California, that’s a real bummer. Here are snow totals for Colorado and Utah resorts this week.
Backcountry Skiing
Conditions have been improving this week as far as overall fun-ness is concerned. You can actually feel spring in the air, and snow is starting to get a bit softer. It won’t be very long until corn snow hunting is rampant in the La Sal’s and Abajo’s. The UAC is reporting mostly safe conditions, and they seem to be improving by the day. That may change temporarily with the new moisture raining down from above. Please refer to the UAC daily forecast for up to date information on all things Moab skiing. Don’t forget that they do have an excellent Beacon training park up there at the Geyser Pass trailhead for you to enjoy free of cost. Get those practice drills in while it’s still available for your use. Here’s a photo from a tour in the Abajo’s recently.
Cross Country Skiing and Snowshoeing
Grooming in the La Sal’s was completed yesterday, thanks, LUNA! South aspects will be too soft for skate skiing, but north-facing, shaded aspects may still be icy and fast. Seek out the good stuff and suffer through the less fortunate conditions. Let’s take a moment to thank LUNA for all of the hard work they’ve put in this season to create fun for us. Without them, we wouldn’t have a nordic track to play on. Consider donating to the grooming efforts in our donation box in the shop. Make sure to pack the sunscreen for any snow-related recreation this week. Those solar rays will be bouncing off the snow pretty hard.
Weather
It’s incredible in the outdoors this week temperature-wise, but weather in Moab will see a chance of rain this week. If you can squeeze in some recreation between the storms, it should be pleasant. Highs will reach the upper half of the 60’s. Low’s will hover around the 40’s. Hopefully, we see a return of this lovely weather soon, and the rain stops being a fun-sucker. Here’s the forecast for town, courtesy of NOAA.
There will be a chance of snow in the mountains going into the next foreseeable portion of our lives. Today, and Tuesday into Wednesday, we will see a chance of snow showers. High’s will be in the high 40’s with low’s dropping into the 20’s at night. At least we may be getting a little bit of snow out of this storm, as it may ruin a couple of our other favorite activities for a short time. Here’s the NOAA forecast for the La Sal’s.
Mountain Biking
Riding conditions have been excellent recently, and man has it been beautiful on the trails this week. Most bike trails are open, excluding the trails that make up The Whole Enchilada. With the warmer weather in Moab, I’ve seen lots more bike stoke around town, and it warms my heart to see people getting after it in the desert. Come into the shop to ask our bike expert Sam how good it’s been out there. We may see temporary changes in trail conditions this week if it rains hard enough, make sure to check with the Poison Spider Bike shop in person or on the conditions page for up to date riding information.
Climbing/Canyoneering
Oh boy, it’s great out there. I spent just too much time going Rock Climbing this week, as well as a lot of us here at the Gear Trader. The rock dried up, and the temperatures allowed for incredibly awesome conditions. It’s time to dust off the shoes, tape up the hands, and get after it in the early season. Indian Creek will see an upswing in visitors here soon. As lovers of the desert, it’s important to be sending our hardest in regards to picking up any trash we may find, trying as hard as we can to follow established trails, and during our rests, donating at the donations boxes posted up around the creek. Toilet paper isn’t free, ya know! Someone has to pay for it. Here’s a photo of our new staff member Lindsey suspended in time in an exceptional position on planet earth.
The weather in Moab has allowed for amazing Canyoneering. I was able to run through a couple of canyons this week on my rest days, and it’s been delightful. Make sure to bring extra webbing and equipment to replace anchors if they haven’t seen much love yet. Our local guide companies are starting to evaluate anchors and run canyons to get stoked out for the season, but there’s a significant chance you may run into something that hasn’t seen any love lately. Make sure never to enter a canyon when there is precipitation in the forecast, swift-moving water in small places is never great when humans are involved.
Hiking
Hiking conditions are about as good as they get here in Moab. The great weather in Moab means Arches National Park is starting to see a couple more visitors, but overall you can still enjoy the park in enough solitude to experience a wild outdoor adventure. Check out our latest guide on what to see in Arches National Park here. It includes the best hikes in Arches and how to access them. If your thing is hiking, then try to get out there and make use of the weather in between storms this week. It’s among the only viable, low impact activities to do in the wet desert environment.
Shop Updates
As the weather in Moab improves we are ramping up operations in preparation for all of our new visitors, and the store is starting to see it’s first big rushes for the season as Spring Break begins. The team has recently welcomed some new folks into our Gear Trader family, make sure to say hello if you see some new faces. We will be selling girl scout cookies outside the shop all week, get yours before they’re gone! As always, we are open from 8 AM to 9 PM every day of the week.
Events This Week
PRCA Rodeo Auditions. Starting March 8th at 5:30 pm, Old Spanish Trail Arena.
Science Moab on Tap: Mad Max, Dust & the Future of Moab. Grab a drink and get stoked about the science of the future desert! This is a free event, and it begins at 6:30 pm at the Helipad, 239 W Center St.
Leave A Comment