Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Logan Area Mountains Issued by Toby Weed for Friday - February 24, 2017 - 7:00am
bottom line

The danger is MODERATE, heightened avalanche conditions exist at upper and mid elevations. Triggered storm snow, cornice fall, and wind slab avalanches are possible. Periods of very heavy snow or stronger than expected wind will cause an increase in danger and the possibility for natural activity. Evaluate snow and terrain carefully, and avoid travel on or under large cornices and steep drifted slopes.
special announcement

Discount lift tickets for Beaver Mountain, Snowbasin, Powder Mountain, and the Central Wasatch resorts are donated by the resorts to benefit the Utah Avalanche Center. Details and order information here.

current conditions

A good day to call in sick or find some other way to get out into the backcountry and enjoy stellar Utah powder conditions. The 8400' Tony Grove Snotel reports 10 F and 6" of snow with .5" SWE in the last 24 hrs and 1.3" SWE in the last 48 hrs. It's 2 F at the CSI Logan Peak weather station at 9700'. The wind sensor is encased by ice and not working, but winds are in the low single digits at the UDOT Hwy 89 summit, and on Ogden Peak west winds are blowing 6 mph, gusting to around 30 mph. I found top notch powder riding in the Tony Grove Area yesterday.
recent activity

Numerous natural dry sluffs and a few shallow soft slabs involving dry surface snow occurred yesterday on very steep slopes in the Tony Grove Area..
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 storm slabs and dry sluffs are possible at mid and upper elevations. These will likely be small avalanches, and the fresh snow is quite light, so shouldn't be much of a threat. Small natural avalanches are possible, especially during periods of very heavy snowfall, so avoid being under very steep 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
  • Huge, overhanging cornices exist on the high ridges and are weak due to recent warmth and wind and can break further back than expected and trigger avalanches on slopes below.
  • Even moderate winds can easily pick up and drift the light snow, and stronger than expected winds could cause the danger to rise to CONSIDERABLE on drifted upper elevation slopes. Triggered wind slab avalanches are possible at upper and mid elevations. Watch for and avoid fresh wind slabs on the lee side of ridges and in and around terrain features like gullies, scoops, sub-ridges, and cliff-bands.

Huge cornices exist on exposed ridges at upper elevations
weather

A cold upper trough over the area this morning will shift east this afternoon. The next system will cross the area Saturday afternoon and night, with yet another cold storm on tap for the first part of next week. Snow showers are likely today with 2 to 4 inches possible, 8500' high temperatures of 22 F, and west wind 11 to 14 mph. It'll be mostly cloudy tonight, with 2 to 4 inches of snow possible, a low temperature around 6 F and 8 to 13 mph west wind. There's a 30% chance of snow tomorrow, It'll be mostly cloudy, with a high temperature of 21 F, and 9 to 14 mph west-southwest wind.
general announcements

Any time is a great time to practice companion rescue techniques with your partners. Companion Rescue Practice Video

Do you buy groceries at Smiths? When you register your Smith’s rewards card with their Community Rewards program, they will donate to the Utah Avalanche Center whenever you make a purchase. It's easy, only takes a minute, and doesn't cost you anything. Details here.

If you sign up for AmazonSmile and designate the Utah Avalanche Center as your favorite charity, they will donate a portion of everything you spend to the UAC. It doesn't cost you a penny and we'd really appreciate the help.

Your information can save lives. If you see anything we should know please help us out by submitting snow and avalanche observations. You can call us at 801-524-5304, email by clicking HERE, or include @utavy in your Instagram. In the Logan Area you can reach me at 435-757-7578

We will update this advisory regularly on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday mornings by about 7:30.

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.