Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Logan Area Mountains Issued by Toby Weed for Wednesday - November 30, 2016 - 6:21am
bottom line

Heightened avalanche conditions exist on drifted slopes at upper elevations in the backcountry. Pockets with more dangerous deep slab potential might be found in drifted north facing terrain on steep slopes with underlying smooth ground and weak snow preexisting before Thanksgiving.

  • Very shallow early season snow cover exists in the backcountry, and hitting rocks is still a serious concern.
  • You don't want to take a ride even in a small avalanche, as you could easily be injured with the shallow snow hardly covering up the rocks and dead-fall in avalanche runout zones.
special announcement

USU Outdoor Program is hosting a free Know Before You Go Avalanche Awareness talk tonight! 11-30-2016. more info go.. HERE

You are invited to our annual Pray for Snow fundraiser/party on Wednesday December 7 at the Italian Place in downtown Logan. For tickets and information Go...HERE

current conditions

The Tony Grove Snotel at 8400' reports significant accumulations of new snow containing 2 inches of SWE (snow water equivalent) from the Sunday/Monday storm, and there's now about two feet of total snow on most slopes in the area above about 8000'. It's 9 degrees at 9700' at the CSI Logan Peak weather station, and I'm reading a very light breeze out of the south-southwest, but mostly calm conditions. You'll find fast riding in nice fresh powder at upper elevations in the backcountry, and lower angled slopes are fun. Careful because there is still no solid base to keep you off the rocks.

Remember, the Tony Grove Road is a busy shared use area, so you have to watch your speed around pedestrians and dogs. The road is not maintained for driving in the winter and conditions deteriorated significantly with the storm in the past couple days. If you attempt the drive in your 4x4, be prepared with shovel and winter survival gear. Beaver Mountain welcomes up-hill traffic this time of year as it helps to pack out the slopes, but you should consider it as "backcountry terrain" before they open the lifts to the public.
recent activity

Yesterday, I could see evidence of a good sized natural avalanche on a due north facing slope at around 8700' in East Miller Bowl. The avalanche on a very steep drifted slope was about 2 feet deep and around 40' wide, and it ran a good ways down the bowl into trees below.


A fresh natural avalanche on the east side of Miller Bowl (photo from 11/29/2016
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

Although wind slabs are gaining strength and becoming more difficult to trigger, heightened avalanche conditions persist on steep drifted slopes at upper elevations after the blustery storm earlier in the week.
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

Pockets with more dangerous conditions can be found at upper elevations. Deep slabs, failing on old faceted basal snow are still likely on some north facing slopes with smooth underlying ground and recent accumulations of wind deposited snow. Pay attention to signs of instability like cracking or collapsing.

weather

A cold northerly flow over the area this morning will give way to weak high pressure this afternoon. The next storm system will begin to spread into northern Utah Wednesday night and slowly cross the region through Friday morning.

Weather Forecast: Tony Grove Lake (41.897,-111.6535), Elevation: 8800'
Today: A 20 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 19. Wind chill values as low as -9. Breezy, with a west wind 17 to 23 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph.
Tonight: Snow showers likely, mainly after 11pm. Cloudy, with a low around 14. Wind chill values as low as -1. West wind 10 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of around an inch possible.
Thursday: Snow showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 18. Wind chill values as low as zero. Northwest wind 9 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of around an inch possible.
Thursday Night: A 40 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 10. Wind chill values as low as -5. North wind around 14 mph. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Friday: A 30 percent chance of snow showers before 11am. Partly sunny, with a high near 17. East wind 10 to 13 mph. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

general announcements

The early season is a great time to refresh yourself and practice companion rescue techniques with your partners.

Check out Avalanche Canada's "Rescue at Cherry Bowl" story HERE

Between now and Jan 15th: Donate to the Utah Avalanche Center by shopping at Whole Foods Market Utah! When you visit any Utah Whole Foods Market locations, bring your re-usable bags, Whole Foods will donate a dime per bag to the Utah Avalanche Center - if you say DONATE my bag credit.

Remember your information can save lives. If you see anything we should know about, please help us out by submitting snow and avalanche conditions. You can also call us at 801-524-5304, email by clicking HERE, or include #utavy in your Instagram.

This advisory is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always exist.