Tuesday, December 8:

There is a MODERATE danger on steep drifted slopes in the backcountry. You could trigger shallow soft slab avalanches on exposed upper elevation slopes steeper than about 35 degrees with freshly wind-deposited snow...

8000' Snotel sites report 3 or 4 inches of new snow from overnight. Hitting rocks or other shallowly buried obstacles probably still presents the largest safety concern in most areas.

Riders still pretty much have to stay on snow covered upper elevation roadways. Remember to slow down and watch out for pedestrians, especially in congested areas like Tony Grove.

Despite of a couple inches of new snow, easterly winds have been whipping it up and we noticed a couple small triggered soft slabs on very steep slopes south of Tony Grove Lake. One snowboarder told of being caught and carried for a short distance.

(go to our current conditions page, Here; for more details.)

It'll be very cold again today in the mountains with cloudy skies and light density snow, perhaps a another 4 inches today.....Expect moderately strong northwest winds to keep wind chills quite low and intensify drifting. As the flow shifts and remains out of the north-northwest, expect the coldest weather yet of the season in the next couple days with a chance for more periods of light snowfall...

Looks like we'll have to be satisfied with this nickle and dime action as large accumulations continue to impact most other areas in the state....

We will be issuing intermittent avalanche advisories as conditions warrant. I'll begin to issue regular advisories later in December and when the winter season really gets rolling....

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We appreciate avalanche and snow observations. If there’s something we should know about give us a call at (435-)755-3638 or 1-800-662-4140, or email us at uac@utahavalanchecenter.org. (Fax 801-524-6301).

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.