Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Logan Area Mountains Issued by Toby Weed for Wednesday - January 17, 2018 - 7:15am
bottom line

Heightened avalanche conditions exist and the danger is MODERATE. Dangerous human-triggered persistent slab avalanches, 2 to 3 feet deep, remain possible in exposed terrain at upper and mid-elevations. Evaluate snow and terrain carefully.
special announcement

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.
current conditions

The Tony Grove Snotel at 8400' reports 26°F, and there's 51 inches of total snow at the site containing 95% of normal SWE (Snow Water Equivalent). It's 19°F at the UDOT Hwy 89 Summit weather station, with light east wind. Heightened avalanche conditions exist, especially where the snow is generally shallow, and large human triggered avalanches remain possible.

  • 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.
  • 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.

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 slopes are gradually stabilizing and persistent slab avalanches are becoming harder to trigger, the consequences remain the same. Dangerous persistent slab avalanches are possible on slopes with poor snow structure, which exist in many areas. Pay attention to possible signs of instability like cracking and whumpfing or collapsing, but remember these red flagged signs of instability aren't always present when avalanches are triggered.

  • Heightened persistent slab avalanche conditions are likely to persist in areas with shallow overall snow cover.
  • A ride in even a small avalanche could be particularly dangerous due shallow snow and the potential for being dragged through rocks below.
weather

.High pressure will build over the area today through tonight then shift east Thursday as a warm southwest flow develops. A strong cold front will slowly cross Utah Friday through Saturday morning with a cold upper trough remaining over the area into Saturday night.

  • Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 37. Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming light and variable.
  • Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 27. West wind 6 to 9 mph.
  • Thursday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 43. Breezy, with a south wind 8 to 13 mph increasing to 17 to 22 mph in the afternoon.
general announcements

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.