Sign up for the 16th Annual Utah Snow and Avalanche Workshop (USAW) IN PERSON, November 4th at the Dejoria Center in Kamas, UT. Sign up and get more info HERE.

The Professional Snow and Avalanche Workshop (PROSAW) will be November 6th at the Dejoria Center in Kamas, UT. Sign up and get more info HERE.

Thursday's storm steered towards the North Slope, delivering about 9" of snow with right around .80" H2O... in other words, medium density storm snow. Half that amount stacked up on the south half of the range. Coupled with the mid October coat of white paint there's less than a foot of settled snow, which is hardly enough base to move around on. The bad news is... this isn't a particularly robust start to winter. The badder news... clear skies and cold temperatures this week create the perfect environment for the snowpack to grow weak and sugary.

So here's what we can do so we don't get surprised once winter returns from its hiatus. If you're out for a drive around one of our upper elevation byways, fire off a few digi images on your phone of the terrain where snow currently exists, especially slopes facing the north half of the compass where weak basal layers will grow at a turbo-charged rate. Mapping out current snow coverage and distribution gives us an edge. We can use this as a touch point and cross-reference where potential weak layers, booby traps, and landmines may lay once it starts storming again and everything turns white.

Weather wise... high pressure camps out overhead, delivering cold, dry weather this week with a hint of a storm towards the end of the week.