Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Logan Area Mountains Issued by Toby Weed for Saturday - March 7, 2015 - 6:25am
bottom line

MODERATE (level 2): The snow is stable and avalanches are unlikely on most slopes in the backcountry this morning, but heightened wet avalanche conditions will redevelop in sunny terrain with daytime solar warming, and triggered wind slab avalanches remain possible on drifted upper elevation slopes.

  • Evaluate the snow and terrain carefully, especially in drifted upper elevation areas.
  • Avoid slopes steeper than about 30 degrees with recent deposits of drifted snow.
  • Stay off of and out from under steep sunny slopes with warmth-moistened surface snow during the heat of midday.

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special announcement

****Special thanks to Buttar's of Tremonton and ArcticCat for hooking us up with the light and powerful M8000, which is featured in UAC Logan's Practicing Companion Rescue video........HERE

Paige found nice powder riding conditions on the Cat in Steep Hollow, (3-4-2015)
current conditions

You'll find nice shallow powder riding conditions on shady slopes across the zone, with deeper settled powder up high and on north and northeast facing slopes. Heightened avalanche conditions continue on some drifted upper elevation slopes and will redevelop in sunny terrain again today. The snow is slick and hard under a few inches of Tuesday's snow on sunny or wind-scoured slopes and at lower elevations, and sledders report having trouble losing control on descents. One rider mentioned "plowing large piles of wet snow in front," and then having to fight to maintain control on the slick underlying snow on a sunny slope. The Tony Grove Snotel reports 73 inches of total snow containing 94% of average water for the date. It's 14 degrees at the UDOT Hwy 89 Logan Summit weather station, with light east winds overnight.


recent activity
  • There was widespread natural activity across the zone Tuesday morning during a period of very heavy snowfall. The shallow storm snow avalanches in steep terrain facing northwest through southeast involved very soft snow and weren't very large or destructive.
  • I watched from afar as a sledder triggered a "user friendly" soft slab avalanche in White Pine Canyon on Thursday and riders triggered a few more shallow and manageable wind slabs in the Tony Grove and Franklin Basin Areas yesterday.

Another small sled-triggered avalanche from yesterday in the Tony Grove Area. (3-6-2015)

***Visit our Backcountry Observations Page for more local information and from across the state.

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

Triggered wind slab avalanches 1 to 2 feet deep and running on a thin persistent layer made up of small faceted grains are still possible in drifted upper elevation terrain. Avoid stiffer, wind-deposited snow on the lee side of ridges, in and around terrain features like gullies and cliff bands, and areas where snow is vertically cross-loaded near sub-ridges, roll-overs, or scoops lower on the slope.

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

Sun-warmed and saturated surface snow could become active, with loose avalanches entraining ​significant moist snow possible on steep sunny slopes. Avoid midday travel on or below steep sunny slopes, and keep in mind that roller balls and/or observed natural loose avalanches indicate significant potential for further avalanching while the snow is still initially warm.

weather

Looks like a ridge of high pressure will dominate the weather pattern for a while, with warming temperatures and fair weather expected in the mountains through the weekend. It'll be sunny and mild in the mountains, with 8500' high temperatures in the mid forties and a gradually increasing light westerly breeze. It'll be clear tonight with mountain temperatures dipping into the mid twenties. Tomorrow's forecast looks exactly the same, and fair spring-like weather will continue well into next week. Our next chance for a little snow holds off until around Wednesday night.

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

general announcements

***Advisories by email for the Logan Zone.  Go here for details.

*** Utah Avalanche Center mobile app 

Discount lift tickets are now available at Backcountry.com.  Thanks to Ski Utah and the Utah Resorts.  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!

***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.