Salt Lake

Welcome to the start of the 2023-2024 winter season.

Thanks for checking the forecast, and stay tuned. We’ll issue updates as conditions change.

Enough snow to ski or ride means there’s enough snow to slide. Right now, the high elevation shady aspects are holding snow and are the places where you could run into an avalanche problem.

The 16th Annual Utah Snow and Avalanche Workshop (USAW) and Professional Snow and Avalanche Workshop (PROSAW) was held this past weekend. Thanks to all the attendees and presenters that took time to make this a successful event.

We have had a few snow and avalanche observations trickle in as people have been getting out and about. Check them out HERE.

If you find something interesting submit it to the UAC HERE.

We've had a quiet start to this season with 21.5"/3.12" of October snow/water as recorded at the Collins Study Plot at 9600' in Upper Little Cottonwood Canyon. This most recent storm delivered 6-12" of snow throughout the mountains of Central Utah. Forecasted cold temperatures and clearing later this week, will melt snow on the solar aspects and keep the facet factory operating on shadier slopes.

Check out this blog post that Utah Avalanche Center Director Mark Staples put together looking at what an El Niño season could bring to Utah.

It’s never too early to start thinking about avalanches. Here are a few things to consider doing:

• Learn online. We have over 5 hours of free online learning at the Know Before You Go website
• Check out the upcoming in-person Know Before You Go events HERE
• Sign up for an on-snow class
• Check out the UAC's education progression HERE
• Get your avalanche rescue gear ready for winter. Put fresh batteries in your transceiver and update the firmware. Inspect your shovel and probe. Get your airbag backpack ready by possibly doing a test deployment and updating the firmware if it is an electric version or getting your canister refilled if it's not electronic.