The Avalanche Danger Scale is being revised for next winter. Our friends up in Canada have created a short survey found at the following link. Please help ensure the new Avalanche Danger Scale is effective by completing a survey. http://surveys.globalepanel.com/wix/p319164581.aspx

The avalanche danger is generally LOW. With day time heating, the danger will rise to MODERATE on both steep, sunny slopes and low elevation shady slopes, with human triggered wet loose avalanches possible. There are also isolated places where a person could trigger a wind drift or sensitive cornice along upper elevation ridgelines and in open bowls.

It’s another backcountry day not to miss – under mostly clear skies, mild temperatures are in the low teens to mid twenties, and the westerly winds are averaging less than 10 mph across all but the highest peaks. It is a race against the sun though – while classic powder remains on shady slopes at all elevations, the southeast through westerly facing slopes already have thin to burly sun crusts. And don’t be tripped up by the scattered hard wind drifts, most widespread on open northerly and northwesterly facing slopes.

No significant backcountry avalanche activity was reported yesterday, though small wind drifts and dry sluffs were triggered with slope cuts. Of course, explosives at the resorts were able to pry out a few of the older wind drifts, with slabs averaging 1 to 2 feet deep and up to 75’ wide released in the higher terrain of the Ogden and Salt Lake mountains. These were on north and northeasterly facing slopes.

High pressure will dominate the weather over northern Utah, with mostly sunny skies and very light northwesterly winds today. Average wind speeds should remain below 15 mph, with gusts only to 25 mph. Temperatures will warm into the mid 30s at 8,000’ and remain in the upper teens along the ridge lines. Sunny days, slowly warming temperatures and light winds will continue until Saturday night, when a quick brush- by could produce a small shot of snow. Next week looks disappointingly very warm and dry.

Wasatch Powderbird Guides flew in Cardiff, Days, Grizzly and American Fork yesterday. Today they will be in Mineral, Cardiff, Days, Silver, Mill Creek, American Fork, and Cascade, with home runs through Grizzly. Their operations planning page is here.

Our web site is now formatted for iPhone. You can also download a free iPhone application from Canyon Sports to display the Bottom Line. Search for Utah Avalanche on the Apple's iPhone Apps page or in iTunes.

Beacon training parks are up and running! There is one at Snowbasin, one on the Park City side at the top of Canyon’s gondola toward the Tombstone lift, one in Little Cottonwood near the Snowbird parking structure on the bypass road, and in Big Cottonwood a training park is at the west end of Solitude's lower parking lot.

If you want to get this avalanche advisory e-mailed to you daily click HERE.

For a text only version, the link is on the left side bar, near the top.

UDOT highway avalanche control work info can be found by calling (801) 975-4838. Our statewide toll free line is 1-888-999-4019 (early morning, option 8).

Donate to your favorite non-profit – The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center. The UAC depends on contributions from users like you to support our work. To find out more about how you can support our efforts to continue providing the avalanche forecasting and education that you expect please visitour Friends page.

Your snow and avalanche observations can save someone’s life. Please let us know what you're seeing by leaving a message at (801) 524-5304 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.

Bruce Tremper will update this advisory by 7:30 tomorrow morning.