Avalanche Advisory
Advisory: Logan Area Mountains Issued by Toby Weed for Saturday - March 3, 2018 - 6:47am
bottom line

There's CONSIDERABLE danger in the backcountry. Dangerous avalanche conditions exist in drifted terrain, triggered wind and persistent slab avalanches are likely, with natural activity possible. Drifting from strong southwest wind will cause the danger to rise further today, and as the storm intensifies, it could reach HIGH in some areas tonight.

  • Travel in backcountry avalanche terrain is not recommended this weekend.
  • Evaluate snow and terrain carefully, and make conservative terrain choices.
  • Avoid and stay out from under steep drifted slopes, corniced ridges, and obvious or historic avalanche paths.
avalanche watch

THE FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER IN SALT LAKE CITY HAS CONTINUED A BACKCOUNTRY AVALANCHE WATCH.

* TIMING...IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM MST THIS MORNING TO 6 AM MST SUNDAY.

* AFFECTED AREA...FOR THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTHERN UTAH INCLUDING THE WASATCH RANGE, BEAR RIVER RANGE, AND THE UINTA MOUNTAINS

* AVALANCHE DANGER...THE AVALANCHE DANGER IS CONSIDERABLE AND IS EXPECTED TO RISE TO HIGH BY SUNDAY.

* REASON/IMPACTS...STRONG WINDS AND HEAVY SNOWFALL WILL LIKELY CREATE DANGEROUS AVALANCHE CONDITIONS BY EARLY SUNDAY, AND CONTINUING INTO MONDAY.

BOTH HUMAN TRIGGERED AND NATURAL AVALANCHES ARE LIKELY. STAY OFF OF AND OUT FROM UNDERNEATH SLOPES STEEPER THAN 30 DEGREES.

BACKCOUNTRY TRAVELERS SHOULD CONSULT WWW.UTAHAVALANCHECENTER.ORG OR CALL 1-888-999-4019 FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION.

THIS WATCH DOES NOT APPLY TO SKI AREAS WHERE AVALANCHE HAZARD REDUCTION MEASURES ARE PERFORMED.
special announcement

Episode 6 of the UAC podcast "A Conversation with Tom Kimbrough, Hemingway of the Wasatch" is live. We explore ideas about lifetime exposure to risk and what role Buddhism has played in his life as a climber, skier, and soon-to-be octogenarian. We talk about what has changed over the years in snow science and the role of mentorship in the world of avalanche forecasting and other professions and pursuits. Check it out on ITunes, Stitcher, the UAC blog.
current conditions

A major winter storm is still lingering on our doorstep, and we'll see dangerous avalanche conditions in the mountains today. Drifting from strong south-southwest wind will be the main factor today. The brunt of the storm will impact the Logan Zone tonight and tomorrow, with heavy snowfall likely.

  • The Tony Grove Snotel at 8400' reports 4 or 5 inches of new snow, with .4" SWE. It's 24°F, and there's 76 inches of total snow, with 85% of normal snow water equivalent.
  • It's 20°F on James Peak this morning, and the wind is blowing 25 mph from the south-southwest, with gusts in the mid 30s.
recent activity

Two reports of avalanches observed Wednesday. Both likely failed on a persistent weak layer consisting of faceted snow and rain-crust from late Jan or early Feb.

  • A natural avalanche observed Wednesday morning, 2 to 3' deep and around 250' wide persistent (wind) slab, running 600 vrt'', on the east face of Magog in Tony Grove Area, likely triggered by cornice fall overnight.


  • Unintentional snow-bike triggered avalanche, 2 to 3' deep and around 200' wide, East facing slope, 8500' elevation, in Copenhagen Basin, near Emigration Summit in SE Idaho.
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

Human triggered avalanches, 1 to 3 feet-deep are possible in steep drifted terrain.

  • Watch for and avoid drifted snow in and around terrain features like cliff bands, gullies, scoops, and sub-ridges.
  • Wind slabs will be found on the lee side of major ridges, on slopes below cornices, in saddles, and downwind of open fetch areas.
  • Avoid ridge-top cornices, which often break further back than expected and can trigger avalanches on drifted slopes below.
  • In some cases thick drifts formed on slopes with poor snow structure, and some wind slab avalanches could step down to buried weak faceted layers.
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

Areas with dangerous persistent slab avalanche conditions exist in drifted terrain at upper and mid elevations. Buried layers of weak faceted snow and rain-crusts from late January and early February are suspect. Human triggered avalanches up to around 3-feet-deep, stepping down into buried persistent weak layers are possible.

  • Continue to avoid steep rocky slopes with shallow snow cover and poor snow structure.
  • Avalanches might be remote triggered, from a distance or below.
  • Cracking and collapsing or whumpfing are red flags indicating unstable snow.


Weak layers made up of well developed sugary facets are widespread in shallow snow in the backcountry around Beaver Mt.
weather

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning in our area for the whole weekend.. Heavy snowfall, with around 2" total SWE is expected in the Logan Zone and lasting through tomorrow night. A frontal boundary will retreat northward across northern Utah today. A potent upper level storm system will cross the region tonight through Sunday. High pressure will follow for most of next week.

  • Today: Snow. High near 29. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 19 to 24 mph decreasing to 13 to 18 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 38 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.
  • Tonight: Snow. Low around 11. Southwest wind 7 to 13 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 5 to 9 inches possible.
  • Sunday: Snow. High near 16. Wind chill values as low as -7. West northwest wind 11 to 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 6 to 10 inches possible.
general announcements

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

Episode 5 of the UAC podcast To Hell in a Heartbeat - A Conversation With Tom Diegel and Matt Clevenger About the 12.26.08 Full Burial on Little Water is live. This podcast talks with Matt and Tom about their experience and the massive success of the To Hell in a Heartbeat video which has been viewed almost 3M times. Check it out on ITunes, Stitcher, the UAC blog, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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.

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 Check it out on ITunes, Stitcher, the UAC blog, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

EMAIL ADVISORY: If you would like to get the daily advisory by email you will need to subscribe here.

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 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.