Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Logan Area Mountains Issued by Toby Weed for Friday - January 19, 2018 - 7:09am
bottom line

Heightened avalanche conditions exist in the backcountry, and the danger is MODERATE. Drifting snow from a strong winter storm will cause the avalanche danger to rise today. Human-triggered avalanches are possible in exposed terrain at upper and mid-elevations. Evaluate snow and terrain carefully.
current conditions

The Tony Grove Snotel at 8400' reports 37°F, and there's 49 inches of total snow at the site containing 92% of normal SWE (Snow Water Equivalent). It's 27°F at the the Ogden Peak weather station, with 50 mph south wind and gusts close to 70 mph. We found good stability yesterday in the Logan Peak Area, but a winter storm today will once again create heightened avalanche conditions in the backcountry. Human triggered avalanches are possible, especially in drifted terrain and areas where the snow is generally shallow.

  • The Providence Canyon road is blue water ice and travel is not recommended
  • The Tony Grove Road is not maintained for wheeled travel in the winter. Do not try to drive up, you won't get far.
  • It's stating to fill in up high, but shallow snow conditions still exist in many areas, and we've seen numerous badly damaged sleds recently.
recent activity

A couple close calls occurred in the Logan Zone over the weekend.

  • On Saturday, 1/13/18, a rider was caught but ended up on top of the debris pile in a relitively small avalanche near Naomi Peak. View Report HERE
  • On Sunday, 1/14/18, a couple riders were on the slope when they triggered a large hard slab avalanche. One rider was able to outrun the avalanche, while the other lost his sled and was caught and carried to the bottom of the slope, but miraculously was not buried in the deep debris. Report HERE

Paige and Kory looking at the broad crown of Sunday's large sled triggered avalanche in upper Providence Canyon near Logan Peak.

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 the snow on most slopes is stable and persistent slab avalanches are fairly unlikely, the size of potential avalanches and the consequences of triggering one remain the same. Persistent slab avalanches are possible on slopes with poor snow structure.

  • Pay attention to possible signs of instability like cracking and whumpfing or collapsing, but remember these signs of instability aren't always present when avalanches are triggered, so you you have to dig to find poor snow structure.
  • Heightened persistent slab avalanche conditions are likely to persist, especially in shady areas with shallow overall snow cover.
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

Drifting of today's new snow will create heightened wind slab avalanche conditions in exposed terrain.

  • Watch for and avoid fresh drifts on steep lee slopes and in and around terrain features like sub-ridges, gullies, scoops, and rock outcrops.
  • A ride in even a small avalanche could be particularly dangerous due shallow snow and the potential for being dragged through rocks below.
weather

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for the mountains of far northern Utah. A cold and moist storm system will move off the eastern Pacific and will track across the Great Basin through the weekend. This storm will impact much of Utah and southwest Wyoming tonight through early Sunday.

  • Today: Snow. Temperature falling to around 26 by 5pm. Breezy, with a southwest wind 24 to 29 mph decreasing to 17 to 22 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 43 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.
  • Tonight: Snow. Low around 16. North wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.
  • Saturday: Snow likely, mainly before 11am. Cloudy, with a high near 22. North wind 11 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.
general announcements

We're excited to introduce for the 2017/2018 winter the Utah Avalanche Center podcast, hosted by forecaster Drew Hardesty and produced by KUER's Benjamin Bombard. The podcast will include engaging stories, interviews, and lessons learned - all things avalanche to help keep people on top of the snow instead of buried beneath it - and easily found on ITunes, Stitcher, the UAC blog, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Discount lift tickets for Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, Solitude, Deer Valley, Snowbasin, and Beaver Mountain are now available, donated by the resorts to benefit the Utah Avalanche Center. Details and order information here. All proceeds go towards paying for avalanche forecasting and education!

Now is a great time to practice companion rescue techniques with your backcountry partners. Here's our rescue practice video.

Go HERE for a list of UAC classes.

EMAIL ADVISORY: If you would like to get the daily advisory by email you will need to subscribe here.

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!

Benefit the Utah Avalanche Center when you buy or sell on ebay - set the Utah Avalanche Center as a favorite non-profit in your ebay account here and click on ebay gives when you buy or sell. You can choose to have your seller fees donated to the UAC, which doesn't cost you a penny.

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