Welcome to the new look of the avalanche advisory. This past summer we had a series of meetings and negotiated a unified look-and-feel of the avalanche advisories and web pages for other avalanche centers in this region including Jackson, Wyoming, Sun Valley and the Sierra Avalanche Center. Eventually all these sites should look very similar and the plan is for Colorado to join the look next winter. In another week or two we expect to have two viewing choices for the advisory page--this basic view and the "advanced" view most are familiar with from last season with colored danger ratings in the aspect-elevation diagram.

We are still in the process of transferring the pages and content from our old website to the new site, so be patient. We are also tweaking the look and design so you may notice some changes. When everything is finished, it should all be pretty cool.

It is almost a year ago to the day where we witnessed a powder feeding frenzy the Wasatch has never seen. It was then that a cold Pacific storm put a foot and a half of snow down on a house of cards. It was the first powder weekend of the season. The danger was rated Considerable. There was little regard for safety, other parties, or avalanche conditions. By the end of the day, we had suffered one fatality, one snapped femur, and six others getting caught and carried by avalanches they had triggered. All of these were in the unopened early season mountain resorts in upper Little Cottonwood Canyon.

The storm continues....

Snow totals in the western Uintas are now at 8-12". What began as white rain and graupel yesterday morning has transitioned to 6% smoke overnight. Mercifully, the punishing winds have relaxed as they've veered to the west and are now blowing 10-15mph with gusts to 20. Temps have plummeted to the mid-teens. Riding conditions are best - and safest - on low angle grassy slopes at the mid and upper north facing elevations. Previous to this storm, all southeast through south through westerly facing slopes were bare ground.