Although we haven't seen meaningful snowfall in over a week, the snowpack is well-preserved in this area. Winds have impacted the alpine, but near and below treeline surfaces offered soft snow on the west to northwest through north aspects we traveled on. We observed surface faceting at lower elevations, but the 'holiday slab' (snow picked up since December 25th) was supportable to both ski and sled traffic in all but the steepest treed slopes. Weather station data is limited for this area, but observations during the day suggest snow totals since December 25th are lower than Red Mountain Pass but comparable to other nearby zones like Molas Pass.

Big Blue Wilderness. South Cimarron Mountains.

Owl Creek Pass Road (FS 6S858) at the Vista Point trailhead. Owl Creek Pass Road to West Fork (FS 62860). Ascend sub ridge of Dunsinana Mountain. Return a similar route.

Limited natural avalanche activity observed apart from one natural Persistent Slab avalanche of Pinnacle Ridge. This avalanche looked old and is estimated to have occurred sometime in early to mid January.

Conditions feel mild in comparison to last week's arctic air and strong winds. Winds were calm today and temperatures remained just below freezing around 10,000 ft at the heat of the day. Skies had few clouds with good visibility over towards the West Elks, Sneffles Range, and up towards Grand Mesa.