Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Logan Area Mountains Issued by Toby Weed for Saturday - March 29, 2014 - 6:59am
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Heightened avalanche conditions exist in the backcountry, and there's a MODERATE or level 2 danger in drifted terrain and on steep slopes with moist snow. You could trigger large cornice falls or wind slab avalanches 1 to 2 feet deep in steep terrain with recent wind deposits. Loose wet avalanches will become more likely during the warmth of midday as crusts soften and the surface snow becomes saturated. Evaluate the snow and terrain carefully.

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special announcement

Sale on all remaining discount lift tickets donated to the Utah Avalanche Center from Beaver Mountain, Wolf Mountain, Sundance, and Brian Head: The few remaining tickets are being blown out with all proceeds used to pay for avalanche advisories and education. Go here to get your tickets.

current conditions

You still might find very nice smooth powder conditions in north facing terrain, but yesterday's warmth affected all other slopes, and surface melt-freeze crusts formed with freezing temperatures overnight. Thinner surface crusts at upper elevations might soften with today's seasonal daytime and prefrontal warming, but cloud cover and increasing southwest winds will probably help keep things fairly cool. The Tony Grove Snotel at 8400' reports a bit more than a foot of new snow from the week, containing 1.5 inches of water. There's 107 inches of total snow, with 131% of average water content for the date. It's already 29 degrees at the 9700' CSI Logan Peak weather station, and I'm reading average wind speeds of around 30 mph from the south currently.

Cross-loaded by recent southwest winds, the fresh snow on these southeast facing slopes in the Wellsville Mountain Wilderness is either crusty or too warm and moist. Good coverage means we'll be able to wait for better snow conditions later in the spring. 3-28-2014
recent activity

Two people triggered and were caught and carried by separate soft slab avalanches in the Central Wasatch Backcountry on Thursday and another yesterday. No injuries were reported. In the Logan Zone, I noticed evidence some recent natural wind slab and loose wet activity in the Wellsville Range yesterday, and I could see evidence several fresh wet sluffs on west facing slopes of the Bear River Range from town yesterday. Skiers report intentionally triggering shallow slabs in Providence Canyon on Thursday evening, and a snowboarder triggered at small wet sluff yesterday on the back side of Beaver Mt.

Visit our Backcountry Observations Page for details on the season's activity.

A fresh natural soft slab avalanche in upper Shumway Canyon on the east side of the Wellsvilles, triggered by cornice-fall. 3-28-2014.

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
  • South winds intensified overnight, forming stiff new wind slabs in north facing terrain, where the fresh snow from Thursday is still soft and powdery. South winds will continue today, and drifts will get deeper and stiffer. Stiff wind slabs might allow you to get out on them before releasing.
  • In most cases, fresh wind and storm slabs formed during the week are well bonded to to dusty old snow that was on the surface during last week's warm spell, but there are some exceptions, and you could still trigger wind slab avalanches especially in very steep terrain. Avoid stiffer, recently drifted fresh snow in steep lee terrain and in and around terrain features like gully walls, outcroppings, or under cliffs.
  • Avoid and stay out from under large and overhanging cornices along major ridge-lines, which are likely to break further back than you expect and could trigger avalanches on slopes below. It's especially important to stay out from under these guys when they are forming with drifting and during the heat of the day, when some may naturally fail and calve off in large chunks.
Avalanche Problem 2
type aspect/elevation characteristics
LIKELIHOOD
LIKELY
UNLIKELY
SIZE
LARGE
SMALL
TREND
INCREASING DANGER
SAME
DECREASING DANGER
over the next 10 hours
description

Wet or heat-related avalanches will become possible on sheltered slopes with significant fresh accumulations as the day warms up, and rapid warming could cause heightened avalanche conditions to develop in some areas. Triggered loose and soft slab avalanches entraining significant piles of moist fresh snow are possible as slopes are heated, crusts soften, and the fresh snow becomes damp and cohesive.
weather

Should stay mostly cloudy today, with a high temperature at 8500' around 40 degrees, with strong and strengthening south winds and scattered snow showers. Snow is likely tonight, with some thunder possible, diminishing west winds and 3 to 5 inches of accumulation possible. Expect a low of 26 degrees tonight. Expect snow tomorrow, with 5 to 9 inches of additional accumulation possible, intensifying west winds, and a high temperature of 31 degrees. Snowy weather will continue into the first part of next week.

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

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

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.

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I'll issue weekend and intermittent advisories through April.

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.