The snow on most slopes appears to be stable, but the snow structure is poor and you still might trigger dangerous avalanches in some areas. A couple inches of very light snow yesterday only improved riding conditions in the backcountry. You'll find nice smooth settled powder riding conditions across the zone, and cold temperatures are keeping the snow nice and soft, even in the sun. It's easy to break trail since you don't sink in very deeply. You can ride almost anywhere, but you should be cautious in avalanche terrain because you still might trigger a large and dangerous avalanche, most likely from an area where the snow is thin or rocky.
We're keeping an eye on the snow surface these days, since weak layers commonly develop on or near the snow surface during high pressure conditions. We watched as V Feathery surface hoar or frost crystals grew on the snow surface during the day yesterday. (12-31-2015)
The Tony Grove Snotel at 8400' reports an inch of new snow from overnight and 6 degrees. The station reports 20 inches of settlement in the last week (since Christmas Eve), and there's now 50 inches of total snow, containing 99% of average water content for the date. It's 5 degrees at the 9700' CSI Logan Peak weather station, which is showing easterly winds averaging close to 30 mph with a 41 mph gust this morning.
Evidence of significant natural activity from last week's productive storm is widespread across the Logan Zone. Most of the natural avalanches occurred early in the storm, but there are also a few that appear to be a bit more recent.
- On 12/19 an experience local rider was caught and carried through trees, mostly buried, and trapped by an avalanche he triggered above the Tony Grove Campground. Video Report
- On 12/20 a skier remote triggered a large Deep Slab avalanche high on the south rim of lower Logan Canyon.
- I observed several large more recent avalanches in the upper Providence Canyon area on Saturday. I think these were Christmas Eve naturals, but they might've been remote triggered, unseen by riders in limited visibility. Video Report
***To view our updated list of backcountry observations and avalanche activity from around Utah, go to our observations page