Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Logan Area Mountains Issued by Toby Weed for Saturday - January 23, 2016 - 7:09am
bottom line

CONSIDERABLE (Level 3): The snow is slowly stabilizing in the backcountry, but dangerous avalanche conditions still probably exist on many slopes. Careful snowpack evaluation, cautious routefinding, and conservative decision-making will be essential this weekend. Large and destructive triggered avalanches are possible on upper elevation slopes steeper than about 30 degrees. Avalanches could be triggered remotely, from a distance or even below!




special announcement

Our updated accident report from Thursday's tragic fatal avalanche in the Wasatch Range is HERE
current conditions

The temperature is a toasty 29 degrees this morning at the 8400' Tony Grove Snotel. There's 65 inches of total snow, containing 100% of average water content for the date. The 9700' CSI Logan Peak weather station reports 23 degrees and sustained south winds overnight, currently averaging about 24 mph. We found pretty nice deep medium density new snow in the past couple days, and the fresh snow is fairly supportable. At upper elevations, I was only sinking into the surface a couple inches with skis on, but up to my thighs off the sled in the boots.. The snow is not so supportable down lower in elevation


Sled triggered avalanches from Tuesday in the central Bear River Range. (Steam Mill and Christmas Tree Zollinger, Lundahl 1-19-2016)

A couple triggered avalanches occurred in the Providence Canyon Area on Thursday.....(1-21-2016)
recent activity

The rider who triggered this avalanche in the Rodeo Grounds in Providence Canyon was carried and partially buried. (Wolford 1-21-16)

  • I count 9 large unintentionally triggered avalanches locally within the last week! These were all close calls!
  • 3 more large triggered avalanches reported from Thursday in the Providence Canyon Area
  • We could see debris piles from across Cache Valley on Maple Bench and in other large avalanche paths on the east side of the Wellsville Range from large and long running natural avalanches that probably occurred early Wednesday morning.
  • Several large sled triggered avalanches were reported from Tuesday in the White Pine and Steam Mill Canyons. These were triggered from low on the slopes on east and south facing terrain. There was also a large remote skier triggered avalanche on Tuesday just north of Tony Grove Lake. A Face Book video from the large avalanche in Christmas Tree Bowl is .....HERE
  • At least one unintentional triggered avalanche occurred Sunday in backcountry terrain accessed from Beaver Mt.
  • A snowboard rider triggered a large avalanche on White Pine Knob in Bunch Grass Canyon on Saturday, 1-16-2016 report...... HERE

***To view our updated list of backcountry observations and avalanche activity from around Utah, go to our observations page

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 persistent slab avalanches remain likely in some areas today.

  • A slab layer consisting of drifted new snow accumulated on weak surface snow that is now a buried persistent weak layer which could stay reactive for several more days.
  • In some areas, the faceted snow in the basal layers of the snowpack appear have also become reactivated by the recently added weight of drifted new snow.
  • Dangerous and destructive​ deep slab avalanches involving old snow and failing on sugary faceted snow or depth hoar are possible, especially in areas with shallow snow cover and poor snow structure.

***Pay close attention to signs of unstable snow like recent avalanches, whumpfing, and shooting cracks, and be willing to reevaluate your plans. In these conditions you could trigger avalanches remotely, from a distance or worse, from below!
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

Watch for and avoid recent and developing drifts and/or wind slabs near ridge tops and in and around terrain features like gullies, sub-ridges, scoops, and rock outcroppings.

weather

Snow is likely this afternoon in the mountains with a high temperature at 8500' pushing 30 degrees and a moderate south wind. It will snow tonight, with a low around 18 degrees and west winds. 3 to 5 inches of accumulation is possible. Snow showers will continue tomorrow and another inch or two is possible. A cool northerly flow will follow for the first part of next week. High pressure conditions will develop over the region for latter in the week.

general announcements

The CROWBAR backcountry ski race will be Saturday January 30. More info at http://CrowbarSkiRace.org.

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 update this advisory throughout the season 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.