Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Logan Area Mountains Issued by Toby Weed for Friday - January 26, 2018 - 7:15am
bottom line

Dangerous avalanche conditions exist on drifted slopes in the backcountry. Human triggered wind slab avalanches are likely in exposed upper elevation terrain, and dangerous persistent slab avalanches are possible on drifted slopes with poor snow structure. You'll be able to find great powder riding conditions, more stable snow, and safer conditions in sheltered, lower angled, and lower elevation areas.

  • Evaluate snow and terrain carefully, and make conservative decisions.
  • Avoid travel in drifted terrain and steep rocky areas with shallow snow cover.



special announcement

Episode 3 of the UAC podcast is live. We talk with UDOT Avalanche Program Supervisor Bill Nalli on how he and his teams keep the Greatest Snow on Earth from avalanching over the open roads and highways of the state. Check it out on ITunes, Stitcher, the UAC blog, or wherever you get your podcasts.
current conditions

Should be a good powder day, with mountain temperatures in the teens this morning and a decent shot of nice light Utah powder in the Bear River Range. The Tony Grove Snotel at 8400' reports 9 inches of light new snow from yesterday afternoon with .6" SWE (or Snow Water Equivalent). It's 16°F, and there's 61 inches of total snow at the site containing 91% of normal SWE . It's 17°F at UDOT Hwy 89 Logan Summit and west-northwest winds are blowing 12 to 15 mph with gusts around 25 mph. Beaver Mountain also reports 9 inches of new snow from yesterday and overnight. Don't forget the extra goggles, since a few more inches of snow is expected today.

recent activity

A few small natural and intentionally triggered wind slab avalanches were reported from the Franklin Basin Area earlier this week.

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

Wind slab avalanches, made up of drifted snow are likely in exposed upper elevation terrain. Strong and continuing southwest winds and snow today will create fresh wind slabs, which are likely be sensitive to human triggering.

  • 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 in areas with shallow snow, due to the potential for being dragged through rocks.
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

Snowpit tests still show propagation and slab failure on buried weak layers made up of sugary, faceted December snow. Dangerous triggered persistent slab avalanches are possible on steep slopes with shallow snow and poor snow structure.A new load from yesterday's storm may reactivate buried faceted snow, especially on drifted lee slopes.

  • Pay attention to possible signs of instability like cracking and whumpfing or collapsing, but remember these signs aren't always present when avalanches are triggered, so you you have to dig to find poor snow structure.
  • Persistent slab avalanches might be triggered remotely, from a distance or below.
  • As new snow stacks up and is drifted onto slopes with existing poor snow structure in the next couple days, and as temperatures rise, the danger of large persistent slab avalanches is likely to increase.

Paige took pictures of these well developed and chained facets, which are widespread in Providence Canyon (1/24/18).

weather

A somewhat moist and unstable westerly flow will continue over the north today. A warm front will cross the north Saturday night. High pressure will return for early next week.

  • Today: A 50 percent chance of snow showers. Cloudy, with a high near 22. Wind chill values as low as -1. Breezy, with a west southwest wind 15 to 22 mph. Total daytime snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.
  • Tonight: A 30 percent chance of snow showers before midnight. Cloudy, with a low around 14. Wind chill values as low as -3. West southwest wind 17 to 21 mph. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.
  • Saturday: A 50 percent chance of snow. Cloudy, with a high near 27. Wind chill values as low as -2. Breezy, with a southwest wind 16 to 22 mph. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
general announcements

The UAC has new support programs with Outdoor Research and Darn Tough. Support the UAC through your daily shopping. When you shop at Smith's, or online at Outdoor Research, REI, Backcountry.com, Darn Tough, Patagonia, NRS, Amazon, eBay a portion of your purchase will be donated to the FUAC. See our Donate Page for more details on how you can support the UAC when you shop.

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

We have discount lift tickets for Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, Solitude, Snowbasin,and Beaver Mountain. Details and order information here. All proceeds from these go towards paying for avalanche forecasting and education!

The UAC Marketplace is online. The holiday auction is closed, but our online marketplace still has deals on skis, packs, airbag packs, beacons, snowshoes, soft goods and much more.

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

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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.