Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Logan Area Mountains Issued by Toby Weed for Thursday - January 11, 2018 - 7:04am
bottom line

Dangerous avalanche conditions exist on many slopes in the backcountry, and large triggered avalanches are likely.

  • Wind slab avalanches, 1 to 3 feet deep are likely in exposed terrain at upper and mid-elevations.
  • Avalanches on many slopes could be triggered remotely, from a distance, or below.
  • Avoid and stay out from under steep drifted slopes, and remain well clear of obvious or historic avalanche paths.
current conditions

We've allowed the Avalanche Warning to expire, but you should continue to stay off and out from under steep hills and avoid travel in avalanche terrain. Dangerous avalanche conditions exist on many slopes in the backcountry, and large very scary human triggered avalanches are likely. The Tony Grove Snotel at 8400' reportes about 6 inches of new snow, and it's much cooler, currently 19°F. There's 49 inches of total snow at the site containing 99% of normal SWE (Snow Water Equivalent). It's 17°F at the UDOT Hwy 89 Summit weather station, with light west wind.

  • The Tony Grove Road is not maintained for wheeled travel in the winter.
  • Shallow snow conditions exist, and we've seen numerous badly damaged sleds recently. The new snow will hide rocks and down trees.
  • Travel cautiously and keep your speed down. ​

recent activity

The backcountry was very active in the Wasatch Range yesterday, with numerous large triggered avalanches reported, some remote triggered from a distance.


One of many on 1/10/18; a remote triggered avalanche on the Silver Fork Headwall in Big Cottonwood Canyon in the Wasatch Mountains above Salt Lake City.
Avalanche Problem 1
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

Dangerous persistent slab avalanches are likely today on slopes with poor snow structure, which exist in many areas. Sugary faceted snow is so weak in some areas that the weight of only a few inches of new snow might be enough to cause avalanches.

  • Pay attention to possible signs of instability like cracking and whumpfing or collapsing.
  • Dangerous avalanches could be triggered remotely, from a distance, or below.
  • Dangerous persistent slab avalanche conditions are likely to persist into the weekend.
Avalanche Problem 2
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 24 hours
description

Dangerous wind slab avalanche conditions exist, and 1 to 3 foot deep human triggered avalanches are likely in exposed upper and mid-elevation terrain today. Drifting snow will continue to build wind slabs today and tonight, and the danger could increase further and become more widespread.

  • Watch for and avoid stiffer drifted snow on the lee side of major ridges and in and around terrain features like sub-ridges, cliff bands, gullies, and scoops.
  • A ride in even a small avalanche could be particularly dangerous due shallow snow and the potential for being dragged through rocks below.
weather

A moist west to northwest flow aloft will remain over northern Utah through Friday. High pressure aloft strengthening over the western states will bring dry conditions to the area with increasing urban haze and valley fog expected this weekend through early next week.

  • Today: A 50 percent chance of snow. Cloudy, with a high near 30. West southwest wind 11 to 21 mph. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
  • Tonight: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a temperature rising to around 31 by midnight. Windy, with a west southwest wind 26 to 31 mph, with gusts as high as 45 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
  • Friday: Snow likely, mainly before noon. Mostly cloudy, with a temperature falling to around 24 by 9am. Blustery, with a west northwest wind 22 to 28 mph, with gusts as high as 41 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.
general announcements

Discount lift tickets for Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, Solitude, Deer Valley, Snowbasin, and Beaver Mountain are now available, donated by the resorts to benefit the Utah Avalanche Center. Details and order information here. All proceeds go towards paying for avalanche forecasting and education!

We're excited to introduce for the 2017/2018 winter the Utah Avalanche Center podcast, hosted by forecaster Drew Hardesty and produced by KUER's Benjamin Bombard. The podcast will include engaging stories, interviews, and lessons learned - all things avalanche to help keep people on top of the snow instead of buried beneath it - and easily found on ITunes, Stitcher, the UAC blog, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Now is a great time to practice companion rescue techniques with your backcountry partners. Here's our rescue practice video.

Go HERE for a list of UAC classes.

EMAIL ADVISORY: If you would like to get the daily advisory by email you will need to subscribe here.

Benefit the Utah Avalanche Center when you shop from Backcountry.com or REI: Click this link for Backcountry.com or this link to REI, shop, and they will donate a percent of your purchase price to the UAC. Both offer free shipping (with some conditions) so this costs you nothing!

Benefit the Utah Avalanche Center when you buy or sell on ebay - set the Utah Avalanche Center as a favorite non-profit in your ebay account here and click on ebay gives when you buy or sell. You can choose to have your seller fees donated to the UAC, which doesn't cost you a penny.

Remember your information can save lives. If you see anything we should know about, please help us out by submitting snow and avalanche observations. You can also call us at 801-524-5304, email by clicking HERE, or include #utavy in your tweet or Instagram.

This advisory is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.