The
Utah Avalanche Center Home page is: http://www.avalanche.org/~uac/
(click on) Utah Avalanche Center in Logan for our home
page
Logan
Hello and good morning, this is Toby Weed
of the
Current
Conditions: A freezing mist driven by strong west
winds in the Central Bear River Range on Saturday capped off the powder
destruction with rime-crust formation on the snow surface at all
elevations. The crust ranges from thick
and even supportable on exposed west facing slopes to thin and zipper-like in more
sheltered east and northeast facing terrain.
A thin surface crust in some areas was also reported by an observer near
Logan Peak, but it doesn’t sound like the rime event was as widespread in the
Southern Bear River Range and the hateful crust may not even exist in sheltered
terrain. Expect slightly cooler temperatures, moderate northwest winds, cloud
cover, and perhaps a few snowflakes in the mountains today.
Avalanche Conditions: A few bus-sized chunks of cornice rolled down the middle of the
main Cornice Ridge bowl over the weekend, and there were a few wet avalanches
and lots of roller balls on sunny slopes.
Otherwise, things appear fairly well locked up. Yesterday, I could still
see some lingering evidence of last Thursday’s natural wind slab avalanche
cycle. Mostly blown-in crowns and a few deposition
piles are apparent at all elevations, but most of the avalanches were fairly
small and not many are still visible. Cooler temperatures, a northwest breeze,
and cloud cover should shut down wet avalanche activity on all but the lowest
elevation slopes today.
You might find a few lingering sensitive cornices and isolated
wind slabs on very steep slopes in exposed terrain. Last week slabs formed on a few slopes
plagued by buried persistent weak layers and although now unlikely, there’s
still a possibility that you might trigger a dangerous avalanche in places. I’m still leery of lower elevation slopes
with generally shallow and hence, weaker snow.
Bottom Line: There’s a LOW danger and avalanches
are generally unlikely on most steep slopes in the backcountry. However, pockets with a MODERATE
danger of slab avalanches exist on isolated slopes steeper than about 40
degrees with significant deposits of previously wind-drifted snow, and a few
large cornices could still be sensitive to your weight. Use good snow assessment and safe travel
techniques to minimize your risk.
Mountain Weather: Expect
moderate northwest winds, cloud cover, and a few light snow showers today, with
less than an inch of accumulation likely. A high pressure system will control the
weather pattern tomorrow with mostly sunny skies and mountain temperatures
warmer by as much as 10 degrees. An
energetic storm will affect the region on Wednesday, but most of the energy
will probably be focused to our south.
General Announcements:
This advisory will expire
in 24 hours from the posting time.
Check out the images page for photos of some of
last week’s avalanches.
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 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.
