Avalanche Advisory
| Advisory: Logan Area Mountains | Issued by Toby Weed for January 4, 2013 - 7:20am |
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Above 8,500 ft.
7,000-8,500 ft.
5,000-7,000 ft.
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bottom line The snow is mostly stable and the overall danger is LOW (or level 1) in the backcountry today. Heightened avalanche conditions exist in places, and there are areas with a MODERATE (or level 2) danger, mainly at upper elevations. You could trigger wind slab avalanches in drifted terrain or loose, potentially long running dry sluffs on very steep slopes. Use normal caution and continue to practice safe travel protocols.
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special announcement The friends of the Utah Avalanche Center in Logan is presenting a snowmobile avalanche safety clinic in Logan, with a classroom session on Thursday.January 17 and a field session up at Tony Grove on Saturday January 19. Save the date, call 435-757-2794 for more information, and visit our website to register..... HERE |
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current conditions You'll find good, fast, re-crystallized powder conditions today in many areas. But, some drifting occurred in the last few days and it is continuing in exposed terrain at upper elevations. The fine powder from last week has settled substantially and it is re-crystallized, fast, and quite sugary in places. Frost or feathery surface hoar is evident on the surface and is widespread in sheltered terrain and at lower and mid elevations. You'll find sun crusts on south facing slopes and rather weak and crumbly crusts on more east or west facing slopes hit by the sun at a less direct angle. A severe temperature inversion is in place over northern Utah, with sub-zero temperature readings down here in Cache Valley and almost 40 degrees warmer on the mountain summits. The Tony Grove Snotel at 8400' reports a balmy 29 degrees this morning, 47 inches of total snow, and 82% of average water content for the date. The CSI Logan Peak weather station reports northwest winds, with wind speeds averaging in the lower teens, and I'm reading 29 degrees at the 9700' station.
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recent activity We've noticed evidence of natural avalanche activity in some areas that occurred during last week's storm. My party triggered a sizable loose dry sluff up in Deep Canyon in the Wellsville Mountain Wilderness on Monday, and an observer reported triggering similar loose snow suffs yesterday in the southern Wellsville Range. I was able to crack out a couple small wind slabs while skiing along a sub-ridge in south Wood Camp yesterday. These were around 6" deep and maybe 10' wide, but I could certainly see potential for larger triggered wind slabs in more wind exposed terrain. Here's a link to our avalanche list...
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Avalanche Problem 1over the next 24 hours
| type | aspect/elevation | characteristics |
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Above 8,500 ft.
7,000-8,500 ft.
5,000-7,000 ft.
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description
With all the light holiday powder around, it didn't take much wind to build shallow wind slabs on the lee side of major ridges and in and around terrain features like cliff bands, sub-ridges, gullies, and scoops. In some areas, stiffer wind slabs formed on steep exposed slopes. These may be stubborn and could allow you to get out on them before releasing.. Wind slabs could be found in some rather atypical places today. Avoid stiff wind drifts on steep slopes. These often appear smooth or rounded and chalky looking, and they sometimes sound rather hollow. Cracking in drifted snow is a red flag requiring reevaluation of your route.
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Avalanche Problem 2over the next 24 hours
| type | aspect/elevation | characteristics |
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Above 8,500 ft.
7,000-8,500 ft.
5,000-7,000 ft.
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description
Triggered loose dry sluffs are likely on very steep slopes with loose re-crystallized powder, and some of these could pick up energy and more snow in descent on longer sustained slopes.. Some recent sluffs piled up fairly deeply in gullies below steep slopes.. Although loose sluffs are a generally manageable threat, they could be a problem if you're caught looking up at them from below or are swept off a cliff or into trees. Keep an eye out above and behind you as you descend, so you can move out of the way of any moving snow. Be sure to only expose one person at a time in steep terrain, and move well out of the way and out of terrain traps below your partners before you give the all clear signal....
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Avalanche Problem 3over the next 24 hours
| type | aspect/elevation | characteristics |
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Above 8,500 ft.
7,000-8,500 ft.
5,000-7,000 ft.
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description
Remember that LOW danger doesn't mean NO danger. It's a beautiful day to get out into the backcountry, but if you venture blindly into steep terrain, or test your limits on extreme lines, you certainly could trigger dangerous avalanches.. |
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weather Expect sunny conditions in the mountains today with high temperatures approaching 30 degrees and a light but increasing northwest breeze. Looks like a split pattern has developed and we are stuck in a period of weather controlled by a strong high pressure system. This means fair weather in the mountains and cold air with thickening urban haze in the Cache and other northern Utah valleys. A split Pacific storm system will brig a chance for a little snow on Sunday and Sunday night, but don't get your hopes up for powder as any potential accumulations will be very light, with less than a half inch currently forecast. The high pressure system will rebuild for at least the early part of next week. Check out the Logan Mountain Weather page...
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| general annoucements Remember your information from the backcountry can save lives. If you see or trigger an avalanche in the backcountry or see anything else we should know about, please send us your snow and avalanche observations. You can also call us at 801-524-5304 or email by clicking HERE. In the Logan Area you can contact Toby Weed directly at 435-757-7578. I will update this advisory on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday mornings by around 7:30... This advisory is produced by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. It describes only general avalanche conditions and local variations always exist. |