Avalanche forecast

Logan

Utah Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

  • Alpine
  • Treeline
  • Below treeline
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Out of date — this forecast expired 6 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Heightened avalanche conditions and MODERATE danger exist at mid and upper elevations in the backcountry. People could trigger dangerous slab avalanches failing on a sugary persistent weak layer. Avalanches could be triggered remotely or from a distance. You can find safer conditions and pretty nice snow in sheltered terrain and on lower angled slopes. There is very little snow at many winter trail heads and LOW danger on low elevation slopes.

  • Shallow snow coverage dictates careful travel, and hitting shallowly buried rocks still presents serious risk in the backcountry.
  • Cracking and collapsing indicate unstable snow.
  • Evaluate snow and terrain carefully, and continue to stay off and out from under steep drifted slopes.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    3

    Many slopes in the region are plagued by layers of weak faceted snow formed during the prolonged November dry spell. The persistent weak layer problem is a very dangerous and notoriously tricky avalanche problem, and it is responsible for most fatalities, injuries, and close calls in the Logan Zone. Avalanches failing on a persistent weak layer can be very sensitive, and they might be triggered remotely, from a distance, or worse from below!

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2

    Westerly winds picked up early this morning, and there is some soft snow to drift around. Soft drifts of newer snow, up to about a foot deep, could be quite sensitive. Drifting from strong east winds Monday built stiffer drifts and wind slabs in unusual or perhaps unexpected places. Harder wind slabs will most likely be found near ridge tops and in and around terrain features like gullies, cliff bands, and sub ridges. People could trigger 1 to 3 feet thick slab avalanches of wind drifted snow on steep slopes, especially where drifts formed on weak, sugary, or faceted snow. Some avalanches of wind drifted snow could be triggered remotely or from a distance.

    • Harder wind slabs may allow people to get out on them before releasing.
    • Even a small avalanche could be very dangerous due to shallow early season snow conditions.

Special Announcement

We are offering a Backcountry 101 Avalanche education class in Logan on Jan 21 and 22. . Details and registration here.

Check out our new and relevant Blog featuring Paige and Greg discussing Danger Ratings and Persistent Weak Layers....HERE

Thanks to the generous support of our local resorts, Ski Utah, and Backcountry, discount lift tickets are now available. Support the UAC while you ski at the resorts this season. Tickets are available here.

Recent Activity

A couple large natural avalanches occurred with last weekend's small but windy storm.

  • A large natural avalanche of wind drifted snow, 2 feet deep and at least 500' wide, was spotted Tuesday on the corniced east ridge of Chicken Hill in Bunch Grass Canyon.

This broad natural avalanche in Grandfather Cornice on Cornice Ridge occurred at about 9200' on a northeast facing slope.

Yesterday there were two unintentionally triggered avalanches in the Central Wasatch Range, one being a close call in No Name Bowl on the Park City Ridgeline. Luckily nobody was injurred. Details are HERE

Snow and Weather

You'll find only a skiff of new snow, but lower angled slopes in sheltered terrain offer nice recrystalized powder conditions. In many areas glittering feathers of surface hoar decrorate the snow surface. On steeper slopes you will still sink into the underlying sugary older snow, and you could trigger dangerous avalanches on steep drifted slopes. Snow coverage is still very shallow in the Logan Zone, and the snow that was on the ground in November and early December is very loose and sugary. In many places you still sink all the way to the ground when you hop off your sled or come out of your skis. We noted less whumpfing, and gradual stabilization of the snow is occurring in Steep Hollow, but our tests show that people could still trigger dangerous avalanches.

There are lots of shallowly buried land mines out there, and you risk more than just a little sled damage riding in steep terrain right now.

It will be cloudy today in the mountains with some snow showers, but less than an inch of accumulation. 8500' high temperatures are expected to be in the mid twenties, with west winds, and wind chill values around -11° F. A series of weak weather systems will cross the area this weekend, with 1 to 3 inches of accumulation possible tomorrow. A potentially stronger system is expected Monday night and Tuesday, and with luck, 6 to 10 inches of snow could accumulate on upper elevation slopes.

Additional Info

Everybody should make time to examine and practice with your avalanche rescue equipment, and convince your backcountry partners to practice with you. Watch our companion rescue video HERE My tip for avoiding avalanches in the backcountry is to keep your slope angles low. Avoid and stay out from under slopes steeper than about 30 degrees. Get a tool to measure slope angle and practice with it in the backcountry. Watch the video HERE.

Paige shows what we are talking about when we mention faceted snow in our forecasts. Watch the video HERE

General Announcements

Visit this website with information about Responsible Winter Recreation by the Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation.

We've kicked off Season 4 of the UAC podcast with a Conversation with American Avalanche Institute owner Sarah Carpenter. You can stream it HERE or wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

The Tony Grove Road is not maintained for wheeled vehicles in the winter.

EMAIL ADVISORY. If you would like to get the daily advisory by email you 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....HERE. You can also call us at 801-524-5304, email by clickingHERE, or include #utavy in your tweet or Instagram.

I will update this forecast by around 7:30 tomorrow morning.

This forecast is from the USDA Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. The forecast describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.

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