Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Logan Area Mountains Issued by Toby Weed for Thursday - January 1, 2015 - 7:37am
bottom line

Strong east winds created heightened avalanche conditions and there's a MODERATE (level 2) danger on many drifted slopes in the backcountry. Pockets of Level 3, and more dangerous conditions exist on some drifted upper elevation slopes. Watch for stiffer wind deposits in unusual or unexpected places. Although becoming more unlikely, you still might trigger a deeper, dangerous, and destructive persistent slab avalanche on a steep upper or mid-elevation slope facing the northern half of the compass.

  • Careful snowpack evaluation, cautious route finding, and conservative decision-making will be essential for safe backcountry travel.
  • Avoid fresh drifts and wind deposited snow on steep slopes at all elevations.
  • Strictly follow safe travel protocols. Only expose one member of your party at a time, and keep a good eye on each other.

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special announcement

We will offer an Avalanche Awareness Class, for beginners and as a refresher for those already with some training, including a Field Day in the backcountry. Class begins on January 8 (evening) and all day Saturday January 10. Call Paige at 435-757-2794 for more information.
current conditions

The Tony Grove Snotel reports 62 inches of total snow at the 8400' site containing 133% of average water for the date, and its 13 degrees this morning. The UDOT Hwy 89 Logan Summit weather station is showing fairly light east-northeast wind, and a chilly -3 degrees. Strong east winds on December 30 changed the landscape and drifted snow into strange and perhaps unexpected places. But, there's still plenty of nice settled powder, especially in more sheltered terrain in the Logan Area Backcountry.

Strong east wind caused substantial drifting at all elevations. Logan Peak and Mill Hollow (12-30-2014).

****Watch Cold East Wind video observation from 12-30-2014............HERE

recent activity

No avalanches yet reported in the New Year. In fact, it's been pretty quiet in the Logan Zone, with no significant avalanches reported since just before Christmas.

Visit our Backcountry Observations Page for more information.....
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

Avoid wind drifts and wind slabs on all slopes steeper than about 30 degrees. The recent strong east wind event built wind slabs in strange and unexpected areas. Wind slabs tend to form in deposition areas on the lee side of ridge-lines and in and around terrain features like gullies, scoops, cliff-bands, and sub-ridges. These will appear rounded, perhaps chalky looking, and may be hollow sounding. The wind slabs I looked at yesterday were fairly well behaved, but I avoided those on steeper slopes. Some cracking has been reported in the zone, but local observers are also avoiding steep drifted slopes.

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

We're now in a tricky "Low Probability, High Consequence" situation. During the Solstice Storm, heavy wind-blown snow overloaded a weak layer consisting of faceted snow and surface hoar that was on the snow surface before the storm arrived. Dangerous and destructive triggered avalanches are becoming less likely but remain possible in some drifted terrain facing the northern half of the compass on slopes steeper than about 30 degrees.

I have found weak snow in areas that were shallow in December, and observers have reported post-holing in areas with non-supporting snow, and others of triggering audible collapses. West facing slopes and rocky shallow mid-elevation slopes appear the most suspect currently. These will be areas to keep an eye on as the season progresses.

*****Video observation from Franklin Basin in the Beaver Mountain Backcountry from 12-31-2014...........HERE
weather

New Years Day will be sunny, with 8500' temperatures around 20 degrees and diminishing east winds. It'll be mostly sunny tomorrow, with high temperatures around 20 again and light southwest winds. A bit of snow is possible for the upcoming weekend starting tomorrow night, but accumulations look rather light at this point.

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

general announcements

You can now receive advisories by email for each region in the state including Logan.  Go here for details.

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

Please submit snow and avalanche observations from your ventures in the backcountry HERE. You can call us at 801-524-5304 or email HERE, or include #utavy in your Instagram or Tweet us @UAClogan. To report avalanche activity in the Logan Area or to contact the local avalanche forecaster call me, Toby, at 435-757-7578. 

I'll regularly update this advisory on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday mornings by about 7:30.   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.