Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Logan Area Mountains Issued by Toby Weed for Wednesday - January 15, 2014 - 6:58am
bottom line

Dangerous avalanche conditions exist, and there is a Level 3 or CONSIDERABLE danger on many slopes in the Logan Area backcountry. Triggered large and destructive deep slab avalanches 2 to 4 feet deep and failing near the ground remain likely on steep previously drifted slopes, and there are areas with a HIGH or Level 4 danger at upper elevations on slopes facing northeast, east, and southeast. Wet avalanches involving moist fresh snow will become increasing more likely on sunny slopes as the day warms. Avoid travel on or beneath steep drifted slopes and obvious or historic avalanche paths. Careful snowpack evaluation, cautious route-finding, and conservative decision making will be essential for safe travel in the backcountry.




avalanche warning

AN AVALANCHE WARNING CONTINUES FOR THE WESTERN UINTAS AND LOGAN AREA MOUNTAINS. VERY DANGEROUS AVALANCHE CONDITIONS STILL EXIST. HUMAN TRIGGERED AVALANCHES ARE LIKELY ON STEEP UPPER ELEVATION SLOPES.     PEOPLE SHOULD AVOID ALL STEEP MOUNTAIN SLOPES. THIS WARNING DOES NOT INCLUDE SKI AREAS OR HIGHWAYS WHERE AVALANCHE CONTROL IS NORMALLY DONE.

 

special announcement

For a safer powder option; Discount lift tickets are 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.

current conditions

The Tony Grove Snotel at 8400' picked up 4.8" of water since January 8. It's currently 26 degrees and there is 54 inches of total snow on the ground, containing 87% of average water content for the date. It's 18 degrees at the 9700' Logan Peak weather station and the wind sensor still appears to be rimed or covered by ice. Dangerous avalanche conditions remain in the backcountry, especially at upper elevations on easterly facing slopes. The heavy new snow from the weekend accumulated and was drifted onto slopes with widespread very weak preexisting sugary or faceted snow....

A quick look the crown of the Fair Grounds Avalanche on Logan Peak. 1-14-2014 (Kobernik​)

recent activity

On Saturday, 1-11-2014, a Utah rider triggered and was caught, carried and fully buried by a very large hard slab avalanche north of the Idaho State Line. The 3 to 5 foot deep and perhaps 500' wide avalanche failed on weak snow near the ground. The severely injured rider had to be rope-hauled back up the steep slope in a heroic late night rescue effort by Cache, Franklin, and Bear Lake County SAR. More info... HERE

On Monday, 1-13-2014, a 19-year-old rider was caught and completely buried by a HUGE avalanche in the "Fairgrounds" on the east side of Logan Peak. Luckily, Dad spotted a red glove the rider was wearing, and he and his brother dug him out and resuscitated him. We visited the site yesterday, and will continue to update our report today. Preliminary report...... HERE AND, Here is our video look at the Fairgrounds from 1-14-2014. ******HERE


Here's a nighttime look at the deep crown of the 1-11-2014 avalanche in the middle Fork of Saint Charles Canyon in SE Idaho.


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

Very dangerous human triggered avalanches failing in old weak faceted snow or in the basal layers of the existing snow pack are still likely on steep drifted slopes at upper elevations today, with the most dangerous conditions on east facing slopes. You could trigger large and destructive avalanches remotely, from a distance, or worse, from below. Heavy snowfall and sustained strong west winds built a significant cohesive and heavy slab on very weak sugary or faceted snow. This unstable snow structure is now widespread across the Logan Zone.

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

Wet avalanches will be increasingly likely on sunny slopes as the day heats up. The fresh snow from the weekend could become troublesome as it warms, with natural wet sluffs becoming likely in steep terrain. It is possible that a smaller wet avalanches overrunning a slope with poor snow structure could create a larger deep or persistent slab avalanche. Avoid steep slopes with moist surface snow. Roller balls or surface sluffing are signs that the snow is warming up.

weather

It will be warm and sunny in the mountains today, with moderate west northwest wind, and 8500' high temperatures around 40 degrees. Expect fair and sunny weather in the mountains again tomorrow and for the next few days.

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

general announcements

For a safer powder option; Discount lift tickets are 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.

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

-The Utah Avalanche Center along with the Montana State University Ski Tracks project combines GPS technology with detailed logbook surveys completed by participants to help us understand how and why decisions are made in the winter backcountry. Participants will use a free smartphone app to record and send us their ski routes then, they will complete a simple online survey telling us some of the features of their tour. For more information visit:    www.montana.edu/snowscience/tracks

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.

Follow us at UAClogan on Twitter 

I'll issue these 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.