The FUAC is auctioning off a pair of 176 cm Black Diamond Drift skis with custom Utah Avalanche Center graphics as a fundraiser. Go to Ebay and search for item320647801970 for photos and to bid.

There are just a few lift tickets left - to Sundance, Wolf Mountain and Brianhead ski resorts – 100% of the sale of these donated tickets goes to support the Utah Avalanche Center.

The avalanche danger is Level 2 (Moderate) on any steep, mid or upper elevation slope with recent drifts of windblown snow. These sensitive drifts will be most common in areas that received 5 or more inches of new snow. There are still isolated places where a person could trigger a deeper slab avalanche on upper elevation slopes.

Under clear skies, temperatures remain in the icebox, with most SLC and PC stations in the -13 to -18 F degree range. The “warmer” Ogden and Provo area mountains have readings of – 10 to zero at their mid elevation stations, though I imagine the high elevations of Timpanogos are way colder. The northerly winds are adding insult, with speeds along many of the higher ridges in the 20 to 25 mph range, gusting to 45. Wind chills are close to – 40 F at many locations.

The Monday storm favored Little Cottonwood with up to 16 inches of amazing low density fluff, with 5 to 7 “ in Big and on the Park City side, and the Provo and Ogden area mountains coming in with about 2 inches.

Most of the activity came from where there was the most snow – the Cottonwoods and Park City ridgeline. Intentional soft slabs and sluffs were easy to trigger on steep slopes of just about any aspect, especially where the winds had drifted the snow, with a few naturals observed. Call them class one’s and a few class two’s – ranging from mostly harmless to just large enough to cause injury or bury a person in steep continuous terrain or where there are terrain traps such as gullies. (Photos HERE and HERE).The new snow was running on crusts on the southerly facing slopes, and within the new snow or on small facets at the old snow interface on the shady slopes.

The strengthening high pressure ridge will bring sunny skies today and a slow warming trend, with temperatures managing to creep back into the single digits at 10,000’ to near 10 degrees F at 8,000’. The northeasterly winds will remain annoying though, in the 10 to 20 mph range with gusts to 25, with the highest ridgelines still averaging 20-30 mph with gusts to 45. The strongest speeds are likely this afternoon. The computer models are showing nothing exciting for the next week - a dry, warming trend through Friday, followed by a series of fast moving waves for the weekend that are not expected to produce much snow. Looking at the very long range, Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow this morning, and as the Groundhog Day tradition dictates, an early spring is thus forecast.

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.

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 by clicking HERE

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.