Logan

The snow is stable, the danger LOW, and avalanches are unlikely. Use normal caution. Stay in the habit of practicing safe backcountry travel protocols by not exposing more than one person at a time to potential avalanches, and convince your riding companions to check and practice with their avalanche rescue equipment.

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

It's been a couple weeks since the last large natural avalanches occurred in the Logan Zone. An observer sent in this picture of a natural deep slab avalanche in the Mount Naomi Wilderness that likely occurred during the warm and very wet storm in the first week of January.

Observers also report some recent loose wet activity in the Cherry Creek Area in the Mount Naomi Wilderness.

Check HERE for all the latest observations and avalanche activity.

Low danger does not mean no danger, and there is a small chance that a person could trigger an isolated dangerous avalanche failing on a persistent weak layer near the ground. I'm still cautious in isolated areas with shallow snow cover (3 feet or less), especially very steep rocky slopes and those with a smooth underlying ground surface. Areas where you sink into weak sugary snow when you hop off your sled or can poke your ski pole all the way to the ground are suspect. The snow in the backcountry is supportable and mostly stable. You'll find fast snow conditions and challenging areas with rock hard or variable and breakable crusts. While the snow is extra crunchy especially at lower elevations due to last week's rain storm, soft recrystallized surface snow can be found in sheltered shady terrain up higher, and sunny slopes are smooth and "buttery". It didn't rain so much, and the snow isn't so crusty north and east of about Beaver Mountain.

The 8400' Tony Grove Snotel reports 17°F this morning and there is 70 inches of total snow with 129% of normal SWE for the date. Winds out of the northwest are blowing around 20 mph this morning at the CSI Logan Peak weather station. We'll see increasing clouds today with high temperatures at 8500' around 20°F, and a good chance for some snow this afternoon and evening. It will snow tonight, heavily at times, with temperatures holding at around 21°F and 3 to 7 inches forecast to accumulate on upper elevation slopes in the Central Bear River Range. It looks like clearing again tomorrow and fair weather for the upcoming weekend and beyond...

• Always follow safe backcountry travel protocols. Go one person at a time in avalanche terrain, (anytime while traveling on or under backcountry slopes steeper than 30°) while the rest of your party watches from a safe area.
• Check your avalanche rescue equipment, change your batteries, and practice often with your backcountry partners. Check slope angles, and to avoid avalanches stay off of and out from under slopes steeper than 30° and adjacent slopes. Video Here

Who's up for some free avalanche training? Get a refresher, become better prepared for an upcoming avalanche class, or just boost your skills. Go to https://learn.kbyg.org/ and scroll down to Step 2 for a series of interactive online avalanche courses produced by the UAC.

• Check out all the upcoming education classes and clinics HERE.
• Please submit your observations from the backcountry HERE.

This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done. This forecast is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This forecast describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.