BOTTOM LINE
Danger by aspect and elevation on slopes approaching 35° or steeper.
(click HERE for tomorrow's danger rating)
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Danger Rose Tutorial
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Although many steep slopes recently avalanched and others are gradually stabilizing, the overall danger in the backcountry remains CONSIDERABLE (or level 3). Dangerous and potentially deadly avalanche conditions linger on many slopes in the region. Deep slab avalanches are becoming harder to initiate, but especially in areas where the existing slab is shallower, you might trigger a very dangerous deep slab avalanche 3 to 6 feet deep, and potentially quite wide on slopes with preexisting weak snow that haven't recently avalanched. Triggered wind or persistent slab avalanches are possible in some areas, particularly on shady and/or drifted slopes approaching 35 degrees in slope steepness.
Careful snowpack evaluation, cautious route-finding and conservative decision-making are essential for safe backcountry travel today. |
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CURRENT CONDITIONS |
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You can still find good soft snow conditions on slopes facing the northern half of the compass, but these are also areas with lingering avalanche danger. Thankfully, snow conditions are fast and you can enjoy riding and turning in low angled terrain.
The Tony Grove Snotel at 8400' reports 68" of total snow on the ground with a trace of new snow from yesterday. The station is reporting a dismal 63% of average water for the date. The Campbell Scientific--Logan Peak weather station recorded moderate west-northwest winds overnight, averaging around 13 mph this morning, and its 12 degrees at 9700'. |
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RECENT ACTIVITY |
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There were several avalanche accidents in the Central Wasatch backcountry over the weekend, with people taking long rides and sustaining serious injuries in large avalanche incidents. Accidents Page
Locally; riders triggered three large deep slab avalanches in the Logan Peak Area over the weekend. Luckily, all the riders appear to have been clear of or escaped off of the slopes when the avalanches released, and no one was caught. I'm still waiting to hear the story of the big slide just above and southwest of the Providence Lake Flats....Both this and a large reported avalanche in Cave Hollow to the east occurred on fairly popular slopes that had a good number of tracks from previous riders this season... Both slides took out and deeply buried a good number of fresh and older snowmobile tracks... A very large avalanche was likely remote triggered Sunday from the northern ridge off Logan Peak over big cliffs and down into Spring Hollow.
Also,a good sized deep slab either naturally released or was remote triggered from a good distance midday Sunday just up canyon from the Temple Fork intersection in Logan Canyon. The avalanche at 6000' on a northeast facing slope was on an adjacent slope to the one that closed Logan Canyon Highway exactly two weeks before. This one stopped in a deep pile full of woody debris on a bench a few feet shy of the road.
Here's an updated local backcountry avalanche list:
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THREAT #1 |
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PROBABILITY |
SIZE |
TREND |
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Over the next
24 hours.
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Although many slopes already slid and others appear to be gradually stabilizing, the now deeply buried weak sugary or faceted snow is notoriously slow to heal, and I'm still feeling pretty uneasy in the backcountry these days. .. Very dangerous, triggered deep slab avalanches are still possible in steep terrain that didn't recently avalanche. These dangerous monsters can most easily be initiated from a shallower area on the slab, so watch out for steep rocky or terrain with generally shallow snow cover. In some areas, you still might trigger a dangerous avalanche from a distance or from below. Triggered deep slab avalanches could step down to weak snow near the ground and be very broad and destructive. |
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THREAT #2 |
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| WHERE |
PROBABILITY |
SIZE |
TREND |
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Over the next
24 hours.
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Recent triggered avalanches stepping down to a persistent buried layer of surface hoar or frost have been reported in the Ogden and Davis County Mountains in the last few days, and some of these have been on fairly low angle slopes...Fresh wind slabs are likely to form on more surface hoar, which has been observed from the valley floors to the highest ridgetops across the region.....Watch for and avoid fresh and older drifts on the lee side of exposed ridges and in and around terrain features like gullies or sub-ridges. |
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MOUNTAIN WEATHER |
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Benign weather conditions for the next few days, with the storms passing well to the south today and to the north in the next few days. Expect high mo8untain temperatures around 20 degrees today and around 30 degrees tomorrow, with moderate southwest winds. Some snowfall is possible in the mountains each day in the next several, but significant accumulations are unlikely... |
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GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS |
I will be issuing morning avalanche advisories for the Logan area on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Consider purchasing some Beaver Mountain lift tickets here from our good friends at Backcountry.com in partnership with Ski Utah. All proceeds benefit the Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center.
If you want to get this avalanche advisory e-mailed to you daily click HERE.
Send us your avalanche and snow observations. You can also call me at 435-757-7578 or the SLC office at 800-662-4140, or email to uac@utahavalanchecenter.org
Donate to your favorite non-profit – The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center. The UAC depends on contributions from users like you to support our work.
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.
I will update this forecast Friday morning. Thanks for checking in.... |
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This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done. 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. |
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This advisory provided by the USDA Forest Service, in partnership with:
The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, Utah Division of State Parks and Recreation, Utah Division of Emergency Management, Salt Lake County, Salt Lake Unified Fire Authority and the friends of the La Sal Avalanche Center. See our Sponsors Page for a complete list. |
