SAVE THE DATES!
Saturday, December 6 - 18th Annual Utah Snow and Avalanche Workshop (USAW). This session will be held in-person at the Wasatch Jr High School Auditorium. 3750 S 3100 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84109. Information and tickets are available here.
Avalanche Awareness Week!
The 7th Annual Avalanche Awareness is the first week of December! This week is jam-packed with events to get you ready for the season and a chance to connect with other backcountry users. We hope to see you out there!
The weekend brought clear skies, light winds, and a strong temperature inversion. No new precipitation has reached the Wasatch since mid-last week.
Cooler air drifts into northern Utah today as a weak, moisture-starved front brings spotty light mountain snow from early afternoon into evening. While snow totals are low, there is a chance for a trace amount, with winds gradually picking up from the northwest before snow chances drop off after midnight.
Snow conditions remain grim, but things are becoming more heads-up following the last pulse of storms. The highest elevation, cold northerly slopes continue to be the only places holding significant snow. This snow was previously spotty and disconnected, but observers are now finding it more connected and smooth, primarily on cold northerly slopes. We're seeing on average 4-10" of better-connected snow along ridgelines, there could be a bit more in the deeper zones above 10,000'.
This is the time of year when noting coverage becomes especially important. Pay attention to where the dirt is because it might be the safest place to ride once storms really start rolling. Slopes with old snow will be guilty until proven innocent.
Bo Torrey traveled Big Springs to Cascade Saddle and down Shingle Mill, observing 6 inches of snow on shaded slopes around 8,000 ft, 8–12 inches with a basal ice crust near 9,000 ft, and early faceting with surface hoar forming, which could create instability as more snow accumulates.
See the snowpack structure and depth Bo (and Ruby) found below, and the coverage of Shingle Mill- Big Shingle Bowl- Northeast aspect-9800'.
No new avalanches from the Provo area, but a few are beginning to trickle in from the Central Wasatch.
Find all observations and recent activity HERE.
