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| Advisory: Logan Area Mountains | Issued by Toby Weed for Friday - December 13, 2013 - 6:25am |
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bottom line Heightened avalanche conditions exist and there's a MODERATE (or level 2) danger on previously drifted slopes at upper and mid-elevations. Avoid steep rocky and previously drifted terrain and slopes with poor snow structure, (when a stiffer slab is resting on weaker faceted snow,) where you still could trigger dangerous persistent slab avalanches. Loose avalanches or sluffs are possible and growing more likely on steep slopes with unconsolidated surface snow. Very shallow and rocky early season snow conditions exist across the Logan Zone. Evaluate the snow and terrain carefully.
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current conditions Overall, the snowpack is still quite shallow and unsupportable across the zone. In many areas you sink to the ground through shallow, weak, and structureless faceted snow, and travel is difficult. We've been finding the best conditions in smooth lower angled and sheltered terrain since the recrystallized and frosty surface snow is pretty fast. But, you also hit shallowly buried rocks regularly. The Tony Grove Snotel at 8400' reports 26 degrees this morning, and there is 23 inches of total snow containing 61% of average water equivalent for the date. The 9700' Logan Peak weather station reports 14 degrees and northwest winds averaging around 20 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. 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. You still have to stay on the roads or in smooth grassy meadows with your sled or you'll sink right through the sugary snow, and you could do significant damage to your sled or yourself hitting rocks. Beaver Mountain allows uphill foot travel and usually appreciates the help packing in the shallow snow before opening.. A video observation from 12-9-2013 in the Tony Grove Area...... HERE
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recent activity Locally: Although no significant avalanches were recently reported or observed, many people this week experienced localized collapsing and cracking in drifted upper elevation terrain, red flags indicating the existence of unstable snow.
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| type | aspect/elevation | characteristics |
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LIKELIHOOD
 LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
 LARGE
SMALL
TREND
 INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
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description
Heightened persistent slab avalanche conditions exist in upper and mid-elevation terrain. Slabs built up on top of preexisting very weak sugary or faceted snow, which is widespread in the region due to the prolonged Thanksgiving high pressure system. You'll find stiff old wind slabs in exposed terrain, especially in and around terrain features like gullies, scoops, sub-ridges, rock outcroppings and cliff bands. You could trigger persistent slab avalanches if you venture into steep terrain in some areas, and this type of avalanche might be triggered remotely, from a distance, or worse from below. You don't want to be caught and carried by any size avalanche, with very shallow snow and sharp rocks in runout zones. Collapsing and/or shooting cracks are obvious red flags requiring you to reevaluate your route, and you should continue to avoid steep rocky and previously drifted terrain. |
| type | aspect/elevation | characteristics |
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LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
 LARGE
SMALL
TREND
 INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
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description
The surface snow is becoming recrystallized (faceted) and weak. I triggered a manageable loose sluff yesterday on a steep north facing mid-elevation slope that ran a bit further than expected and took out my tracks below. In steep terrain loose avalanches could be a problem, especially around terrain features like gullies or rocky ground. Being caught and carried in even a small avalanche could be very dangerous due to rocks, bushes, stumps, and perhaps downed trees in the runout. I expect this problem to increase in scope as high pressure conditions continue and the surface layers weaken further..
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weather A weak weather system will move through the area today, bringing a chance of some snowfall mainly after around 11:00. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like much if any accumulation, with less than an inch forecast for today and tonight. Expect 8500' high temperatures this morning of around 20 degrees, with the temperatures dropping to around 15 in the afternoon and moderate west northwest winds.. The high pressure system will strengthen this weekend, as will the valley inversions, lasting through the middle of next week. A storm and a change in the weather pattern looks to be in store for around Thursday of next week, so keep your fingers crossed. Check out our one stop weather page........HERE |
| general announcements 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 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 issue 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. |
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