The major access to upper elevation snow is via the Tony Grove Road, which is not maintained for wheeled vehicles in the winter.  It is however, heavily used by different wintertime user groups, and this time of year patience and restrained speeds in congested areas are important safety concerns....

It was possible and many people drove clear up to the lake last weekend.  I expect that by next weekend, we may be forced into parking at lower elevations....

There's a  MODERATE  danger in the backcountry today, and you could trigger soft slab avalanches on slopes steeper than about 35 degrees especially in exposed upper elevation terrain.  Watch for drifted new snow on steep slopes mainly in the lee of the highest ridges,  near saddle areas, and in terrain features like banks, gullies, or scoops. 

Looks like a snowy day in the backcountry with Tony Grove Snotel already showing 2 inches of accumulation and temperatures in the lower 20s at 5:00 this morning. There's 21 inches of total snow on the ground at 8400'.  A stout crust formed in mid-November is still the dominate feature in the snowpack at high elevations and it is scoured off or quite shallowly buried on most steep slopes...

A westerly wind at the CSI weather station on Logan Peak is showing average wind speeds above 15 mph with gusts in the 30s.  Radar and weather cams show pretty good snowfall across the region this morning...  Don't forget the goggles...

We'll see decent snow in the mountains today, hopefully lingering into the evening hours.  Expect 6 + inches at higher elevations and a few inches down low as well....A short-lived high pressure system will build into the region tomorrow and linger through Wednesday.  A storm will clip by to our north on Thursday, but don't expect much snow to accumulate.   The well advertised trough is still scheduled to arrive next weekend, and there's a good chance the weather could get interesting.......

We plan to run the Basic Avalanche Clinic on December 12-13 with the USU Outdoor Recreation Center.  Please register in advance....call (435) 797 - 3264 or go to  USU ORC  

If you’re getting out and see anything we should know about please let us know.  You can leave a message at (435) 755-3638 or 1-800-662-4140, or email us at uac@utahavalanchecenter.org. (Fax 801-524-6301).

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The information in this advisory is from the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content.  This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.