The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center will be teaching 1 evening/1 field day introductory and advanced avalanche classes this winter beginning Thursday, Dec 16th. Details are HERE

There is a Free Women’s Beacon Clinic today, Monday, Dec 13th, meeting at 9 am at the Albion Grill. Details are on our Education Page.

Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort and the Utah Avalanche Center (UAC) are once again partnering to offer the second annual Freeride Avalanche Summit, Dec. 16-17. The two-day clinic is targeted towards advanced and expert skiers and riders who want practical and professional instruction on avalanche awareness, safety and rescue. For more info go to

The avalanche danger is Level 1 (LOW) in the mid and high elevation northerly facing terrain. There is a pockety Level 2 (MODERATE) danger for heat related avalanche activity on east through south through west aspects at all elevations as well as north aspects at the lower elevations. Avoid any steep terrain, gullies and avalanche runnout zones where the snow is real damp and saturated.

We have clear skies, light west southwest winds and mild temperatures this morning. Only a few stations are below freezing with most in the 30s to around 40. A rime crust that formed Saturday night capped off what was some really nice riding conditions. The crust varies in places from a manageable zipper crust to an annoying dinner plate entree serving. Very warm temperatures on Sunday effected most slopes except the highest steeper due north aspects with rollerballs on many slopes including northeast up to 9800 feet. Most places will have a crust of some sort this morning with only the high due north protected areas holding remnants of soft cold snow. We will want to pay attention to any facets that may form around the rime crust but I suspect the weather pattern won’t be ideal for much monkey business to occur.

A few class 1 wet loose avalanches were observed in the Cottonwoods on Sunday. These were obviously heat initiated and involved heating of the newest snow. UDOT in Provo Canyon reported a couple of larger heat related avalanches.

Models indicate that we’re at our peak temperatures this morning with 700 mb levels at 3 degrees Celsius. They will cool to 2 degrees Celcius this afternoon but this still puts us at quite warm temperatures well above freezing at many locations today. Clouds will move in this afternoon. Winds will be light from the west. Mild temperatures persist into Tuesday. A nice little storm is shaping up for Wednesday then a few days of cooler dry conditions with another storm following.

If you trigger an avalanche in the backcountry - especially if you are adjacent to a ski area – please call the following teams to alert them to the slide and whether anyone is missing or not. Rescue teams can be exposed to significant hazard when responding to avalanches, and do not want to do so when unneeded. Thanks.

Salt Lake – Alta Central (801-742-2033) Ogden – Snowbasin Patrol Dispatch (801-620-1017) Provo – Sundance Patrol Dispatch (801-223-4150) Discount Lift tickets: Ski Utah, Backcountry.com, Alta, Deer Valley, Park City,

The Canyons, Wolf Mountain, Snowbasin, Beaver Mountain, Brighton, Sundance, and Solitude have donated a limited number of tickets for sale at discounted prices.

Wasatch Powderbird Guides flight plan.

Dawn Patrol Forecast Hotline, updated by 05:30: 888-999-4019 option 8.

Daily observations are frequently posted by 10 pm each evening.

Subscribe to the daily avalanche advisory e-mail click HERE.

UDOT canyon closures UDOT at (801) 975-4838

You have the opportunity to participate in the creation of our own community avalanche advisory by submitting avalanche and snow observations. You can also call us at 801-524-5304 or 800-662-4140, or email to uac@utahavalanchecenter.org

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.

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.

We will update this forecast tomorrow morning. Thanks for calling.