Today's forecast is guest-written by good friend Luke Nelson. Luke is a PA, ski patroller, and athlete/adventurer/activist from Pocatello currently taking his Avalanche Pro 1 in the Wasatch.
Another clear sky morning as high pressure continues to hold strong. A weak cold front is expected to pass through dropping today’s temperatures a few degrees on average, with daytime lows in the upper teens to low 20s and highs in the low to mid 30s. Winds will continue to be out of the north with a slight increase compared to yesterday, 10 mph on average with gusts to 20mph on the mid elevation ridgelines and 25-30mph on average with gusts to 40 on the upper elevation peaks and ridges. The weather is starting to feel like we are waking up as Bill Murray’s character Phil in the 90’s movie Groundhog Day.
If the lack of new snow has got you down, maybe instead of singing the blues, you can take advantage of the beautiful weather, get your crew together and practice your transceiver and rescue skills. That way, when the high pressure finally breaks and the snow starts to fly, you’ll be ready. (It might be slightly outdated, but a list of avalanche beacon parks can be found HERE)
Week in Review for Friday, January 9th- Thursday, January 15, 2026 is hot off the press. You can find it HERE.
Yesterday, a long time backcountry observer noted what looked to have been a recent natural shallow soft slab avalanche in the Caribou Basin on the Brighton Perimeter (9700’ north aspect). The reporting party thought the avalanche possibly occurred on Wednesday, January 14th...and was the result of heavy wind drifting just to the lee of the ridgeline. (pc: CFrantz)
Mark White reported a new glide release from January 13th on the Diving Board, at 10,000 feet on an East aspect, in a known repeat offender area of Broad’s Fork that covered ski tracks from the previous day in a slide 4 feet deep and about 45 feet wide that slid on the smooth rocky ground. Some glide cracks were also spotted in adjacent terrain.
