Counter-intuitively, lack of snow is good news because shallow early season snow subjected to cold November temperatures often becomes a problem weak layer.

The surface of this shallow sugary snow on the rocks at upper elevations in the Ogden Mountains, is decorated by feathery surface hoar crystals that could become a future persistent weak layer. In the Logan Zone, there is only a few inches of shallow snow on the ground above about 8000' in elevation, which is likely to melt off of sunny slopes in the next few days.