Do you have the essential avalanche rescue gear (transceiver, probe, and shovel) and do you know how to use them? Watch this video to see how the three pieces of equipment work together.
HERE
Use the beacon training park at the Franklin Basin Trailhead to practice companion rescue skills.
It's 27°F this morning at the Tony Grove Lake Snotel at 8400'. There is a couple inches of new snow from yesterday, and with 35" of total snow, the station reports only 62% of average SWE. It's 20°F on Logan Peak, and the 9700' CSI weather station reports south-southwest wind, averaging 23 mph and gusting in the 30s.
We really need snow, and it looks like we'll get some tonight. The existing snowpack is generally quite shallow in the Logan Zone, and we have a serious problem with widespread very weak sugary snow and a dangerous persistent weak layer near the ground on most slopes. You sink all the way to the ground if you hop off your sled when you're off the beaten track, and breaking trail on skis is very difficult in untracked terrain because you sink way too deeply into loose sugary snow.
We'll see cloudy skies today, and 8500' high temperatures are expected to be around 29°F. South-southwest winds will steadily blow along the ridges, and there is an increasing chance for snow, although not much is expected to accumulate until tonight. A foot of snow or so of accumulation is possible in the Bear River Range tonight and tomorrow, with moderate winds veering from southwest to northwest during the storm. Expect backcountry avalanche danger to rise dramatically across the region on steep slopes where significant snow accumulates, because very weak preexisting snow is widespread and it plagues snow covered slopes at all elevations facing every direction. More snow is likely early next week in a much more progressive weather pattern.
No avalanches have been reported in the Logan Zone since the first week of 2021, when conditions were quite active.
- A local rider was completely buried in Steep Hollow on 1-8-2021. Thankfully, he was rescued in time by his riding partners. Our accident report shows the details.. HERE
- In early January there were several large remotely triggered avalanches in the Logan Zone, all triggered by sledders or snow bikers, and luckily from a distance. See the avalanche list HERE.
