SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT |
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Consider purchasing some Beaver Mountain lift tickets here from our good friends at Backcountry.com in partnership with Ski Utah. All proceeds benefit the Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center. |
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BOTTOM LINE
Danger by aspect and elevation on slopes approaching 35° or steeper.
(click HERE for tomorrow's danger rating)
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Danger Rose Tutorial
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There is a MODERATE (2) danger on most upper elevation slopes in the Logan Area Backcountry, and dangerous triggered avalanches are possible...Although the likelihood is gradually decreasing with time as the snow on most slopes slowly stabilizes,the deadly nature of potential hard slab avalanches warrants the inclusion of pockets with a CONSIDERABLE (3) danger lingering on shady upper elevation slopes with weak preexisting snow. In these areas, you might trigger dangerous persistent slab avalanches on slopes steeper than about 35 degrees. In some cases, avalanches might still be triggered remotely from a distance, or worse, from below.
Careful snowpack evaluation, cautious route-finding, and conservative decision-making are essential for safe backcountry travel today. |
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CURRENT CONDITIONS |
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Christmas will be another cold day in the mountains, with a north wind and a chance for a bit of snow this morning…Its a chilly 5 degrees at 9700' on Logan Peak with a north breeze. The Tony Grove Snotel reports a meager 30 inches of total snow, 44% of average for the date.
Shallow snow cover is protecting many areas from us, and numerous slopes in the Logan Area remain untouched and untested. It seems most local folks wisely don’t want to be the first one out on lots of normally popular hills… |
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RECENT ACTIVITY |
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No new avalanches have been reported in the Logan Area for a week now. But, last week my party remotely triggered a large avalanche Friday afternoon while returning back down to the sled in the Tony Grove Area. (Tony Grove-Blind Hollow Saddle,12-18-09)
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THREAT #1 |
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PROBABILITY |
SIZE |
TREND |
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Over the next
36 hours.
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Very weak faceted snow underlying the mid-December slab is slow to heal, and there are still places where the snowpack is still probably unstable enough for you to trigger dangerous hard slab avalanches.... |
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THREAT #2 |
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PROBABILITY |
SIZE |
TREND |
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Over the next
18 hours.
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Expect the danger of fresh wind slab avalanches to diminish over the weekend, but you still could find some sensitive wind slabs today built by yesterday's moderate north winds |
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MOUNTAIN WEATHER |
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A high pressure system will control the weather for the weekend and into next week, but moisture lingering in the atmosphere will allow for clouds and perhaps a bit of light snow in the mountains. Our next chance for a little accumulation comes in the middle of next week, but it doesn't look like a big event by any means... |
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GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS |
I will be issuing morning avalanche advisories for the Logan area on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Discount Lift tickets: Ski Utah, Backcountry.com, Alta, Deer Valley, Park City, The Canyons, Wolf Mountain, Snowbasin, Beaver Mountain, Brighton, Sundance, and Solitude have donated a limited number of tickets for sale at discounted prices.
If you want to get this avalanche advisory e-mailed to you daily click HERE.
Send us your avalanche and snow observations. You can also call me at 435-757-7578 or the SLC office at 800-662-4140, or email to uac@utahavalanchecenter.org
Donate to your favorite non-profit – The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center. The UAC depends on contributions from users like you to support our work.
The information in this advisory is from the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.
I will update this forecast on Saturday morning. Thanks for checking in.... |
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This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done. 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. |
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This advisory provided by the USDA Forest Service, in partnership with:
The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, Utah Division of State Parks and Recreation, Utah Division of Emergency Management, Salt Lake County, Salt Lake Unified Fire Authority and the friends of the La Sal Avalanche Center. See our Sponsors Page for a complete list. |
