Strong east winds overnight may have found some snow to drift around, but the thick rime crust from last week probably kept most of it in place. Look for sheltered lower angle slopes, where you might find stashes of fast recrystallized powder-like snow. Upper elevation snow is now pretty wind jacked, with satstugi, wind board, breakable wind-crusts, and a widespread translucent rime-crust, now capped by an angry inch or two of fresh snow and surface hoar feathers. The snow pack is generally quite shallow in the Logan Zone, and we have a serious problem with widespread very weak sugary snow and a dangerous persistent weak layer near the ground on most slopes. You sink all the way to the ground if you hop off your sled when you're off the beaten track, and breaking trail on skis is very difficult in untracked terrain because you sink way too deeply into loose sugary snow, and it feels like you're climbing a loose sand dune.
Snow conditions are somewhat variable across the Logan Zone these days. Here an angry inch of fresher snow is capping a rime-crust from Wednesday, which is widespread at upper elevations.. The snow under the brittle crust is faceted and super weak.
We'll see mostly sunny skies today, and 8500' high temperatures are expected to be around 26°F. East winds will be steadily blowing along the ridges, and wind chill values will be as low as -8°F. It will be fair and temperatures will gradually rise during the week, as a high pressure system continues to dominate the weather pattern. Thankfully, it looks like a pattern change and finally some potential for significant snow this weekend starting late Friday, and more again early next week in a much more progressive weather pattern.
No avalanches have been reported in the Logan Zone since last weekend when conditions were quite active.
- On Friday, 1-8-2021, a 31-year-old male snowboarder was killed in an avalanche in the backcountry near Park City. The final accident report is HERE.
- A local rider was completely buried in Steep Hollow on Friday, 1-8-2021. Thankfully, he was rescued in time by his riding partners. Our accident report shows the details.. HERE
- In early January there were several large remotely triggered avalanches in the Logan Zone, all triggered by sledders or snow bikers, and luckily from a distance. See the avalanche list HERE.
