Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Logan Area Mountains Issued by Toby Weed for Wednesday - December 4, 2013 - 6:49am
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Heightened avalanche conditions exist and there's a MODERATE (or level 2) danger on drifted slopes at upper and mid-elevations. You could trigger wind slab avalanches in steep drifted terrain. New snow sluffs are likely, and storm snow soft slab avalanches are possible on steep slopes with significant deposits of fresh snow. Being caught and carried in even a small avalanche could be very dangerous due to rocks in the runout. Very shallow and rocky early season snow conditions exist across the Logan Zone. Evaluate the snow and terrain carefully.




current conditions

The fresh snow really helped snow conditions. We found smooth and fine shallow powder conditions yesterday, but the snowpack is still quite shallow and rocky. The Tony Grove Snotel at 8400' reports 7 inches of fresh snow from yesterday's storm. It's 4 degrees below zero this morning, and there is 24 inches of total snow containing 75% of average water equivalent for the date. The 9700' Logan Peak weather station reports -7 degrees and northwest wind averaging a bit over 10 mph. The Tony Grove Road is not maintained for wheeled travel in the winter, and the road is currently very snowy, icy, and treacherous in places. We were able to drive up to the lake yesterday, but it was touch-and-go.. A sled or 4-wheel-drive vehicles and chains are recommended. If you do ride up remember that there are lots of pedestrians sharing the road, and you have to watch your speed. Beaver Mountain allows uphill foot travel and usually appreciates the help packing in the shallow snow before opening..

Looking down into the Garden City Bowls on 12-4-2013

A video observation from Garden City Bowls,12-4-2013.....HERE
recent activity

No significant avalanches were reported recently in the Logan Area, but on Monday we triggered an audible collapse or a "whumpf", in drifted upper elevation terrain west of Tony Grove Lake. This is a sure sign indicating an unstable snow structure. Yesterday we observed some natural and triggered a few manageable sluffs involving just the new snow in steeper terrain.
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

You'll find fresh drifts and sensitive wind slabs today, mainly in exposed upper elevation terrain. Soft wind slabs formed on preexisting very weak sugary or faceted snow, which is widespread at upper elevations after the prolonged Thanksgiving high pressure system. Heightened avalanche conditions exist in drifted terrain, and you could trigger avalanches remotely, from a distance, or below.

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

It was easy to initiate sluffs yesterday in steeper terrain. These were fairly manageable yesterday but might pick up enough umph in steep terrain to create problems with terrain traps or if you're in the line of fire below. Soft slab avalanches releasing on weak preexisting surface snow are possible in some areas on slopes with a foot or more of fresh or especially wind drifted snow.
weather

The storm will move off to the east today leaving very cold weather in its wake. Mountain weather stations across the Logan Zone report subzero temperatures this morning. There is a chance of a few snow showers today, but it'll be quite cold, with a high temperature at 8500' forecast at 2. Expect partly cloudy skies and calm winds this morning, but northwest wind will pick up a bit in the afternoon, driving wind chill temperatures down to -15. Under mostly cloudy skies, temperatures will plummit to around -16 overnight tonight. Cold, showery weather will continue for the remained of the work week, with our next best chance for accumulating snow arriving on Saturday.

Check out our one stop weather page........HERE
general announcements

Our annual "Pray for Snow" fundraiser/party will happen Thursday evening, December 5 at the Italian Place in downtown Logan, and you are invited.  In addition to live tunes and good food, we've got lots of great deals on gear and services in our silent auction and raffles.... I hope to see you there. 

Sign up early for one of our life-saving avalanche classes.......HERE           And refresh your avalanche knowledge, check out some of our tutorials........HERE

Follow us at UAClogan on Twitter Hey 

Utah Avalanche Center mobile app - Get your advisory on your iPhone along with great navigation and rescue tools.

Discount lift tickets are now available at Backcountry.com - Thanks to Ski Utah and the Utah Resorts, including Beaver Mountain.  All proceeds go towards paying for Utah Avalanche Center avalanche and mountain weather advisories.

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 participate in the creation of our own community avalanche advisory by submitting snow and avalanche conditions. You can also call us at 801-524-5304 or 800-662-4140, email by clicking HERE, or include #utavy in your tweet or Instagram.

I'll start issuing regular backcountry advisories on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday mornings....  

This advisory is produced by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. It describes only general avalanche conditions and local variations always exist.