Finally ... a decent winter storm! Since Christmas Eve, the mountains have picked up about 3.5" SWE (snow water equivalent) and about 16-20+ inches of snow. The new snow appears to be bonding fairly well to the existing snow surface, and we expect any lingering instabilities in the storm snow to fade over the coming days. Riding conditions are vastly improved, though exercise caution on a sled, as many obstacles lie just buried under the snow surface.
It is going to be a beautiful day today, but do not get lulled into a false sense of security. Our snowpack just experienced a major loading event and will need time to stabilize. We were still observing propagation on the now deeply buried November facets this past week, which means that any avalanche triggered today could be 2-3 feet deep. We have a few days and nights of cold temperatures coming up, which will hopefully help to lock up and stabilize the snowpack.
Currently, it is a crisp 9°F at Tony Grove with 47 inches of total snow. At the UAC Card Canyon weather station, it is 7°F with 28 inches of total snow. Winds on Logan Peak are blowing from the northwest around 25 mph, though overnight gusts were in the 40s and 50s. Paris Peak shows 0°F with a wind chill of -15°F and light winds blowing from the northwest.
Today will be a sunny but cold day, with temperatures around 20°F at 8,500 feet and light winds blowing from the northwest, creating wind chills of around –4°F. The forecast calls for clear skies and sunshine until about New Year's Day with increasing daily high temperatures. The models show a possible storm next weekend.
No new avalanches have been reported locally since early December. A party reported a loud whumpf or audible collapse in upper elevation northeast-facing terrain Friday. (see report) For all observations and avalanche activity in the Logan Zone, go HERE

We triggered a couple of small collapses yesterday near the top of Beaver Mountain, indicated by shooting cracks.