Hello and good morning, this is Toby Weed of the
We
are issuing a Special
Avalanche Advisory for the mountains of
Current Conditions:
Yet another Pacific storm slammed into the
mountains of
Avalanche
Conditions:
Sizable natural and triggered avalanches are likely today
as wind-drifted snow has now overloaded many steep slopes with existing weak
layers. The danger is greatest in areas that received the most snow overnight,
like the
The probable key to today’s instability will be the
presence of buried weak layers on slopes at all elevations. These may be
associated with buried surface crusts, frost or surface hoar, or small grained
facets. The wind caused extensive
drifting and built hard and soft slabs on numerous steep slopes at all
elevations. The biggest wind deposits are likely to be found at upper elevations,
near ridge tops, and on slopes facing the eastern half of the compass. Hard and soft slabs could be over 3 feet deep
and may be quite sensitive, as many formed on weak surface snow or stubborn
since the cold temperatures probably locked up hard slabs. Watch for smooth
chalky looking or hollow sounding drifts on steep exposed slopes and
cross-loaded slabs in and around terrain features like gully walls, rolls,
sub-ridges, and cliff bands. Keep in mind that normally obvious previously
formed drifts may well be now obscured by last night’s fresh powder. Red flags
to watch out for today include avalanches on similar slopes, audible collapses,
and shooting cracks.
Bottom
Line:
This morning there’s a HIGH danger on steep slopes
with recent significant deposits of wind drifted snow at all elevations in the
backcountry. Significant natural and triggered avalanches are likely. As the storm winds down this afternoon, the
danger will remain CONSIDERABLE in many areas, and you could probably trigger
wind slab avalanches on numerous drifted slopes steeper than about 35 degrees
in the backcountry. You should avoid
travel in backcountry avalanche terrain.
Mountain
Weather:
A Winter
Storm Warning remains in effect until
Check
out photos of avalanches in the Logan Area on our images page.
Go
to the Avalanche Encyclopedia if
you have any questions about terms I use in the advisory
I'm very interested to know what
you're seeing out there. Please e-mail observations to me at [email protected] or leave me a message at 755-3638,
especially if you see or trigger an avalanche in the backcountry. We keep all
observations confidential.
The
second annual avalanche awareness ride is Saturday Feb. 2nd and we’d
love to see all of you there! Proceeds
help to support snowmobile specific avalanche awareness projects. Details can
be found at http://www.avarides.com/
This
advisory will expire in 24 hours from the posting time.
The information in this advisory is
from the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its
content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local
variations always occur.