Provo

Welcome to the start of the 2025-2026 winter season!

Avalanche season is creeping back in. We’ve started to get a few early reports of small wind slabs and roof avalanches up in the Upper Cottonwoods. As more observations roll in, we’ll keep the avalanche and observations tabs updated.

Stay tuned as conditions evolve. Regular forecasts and danger ratings typically kick off in late November or early December. And remember, if there’s enough snow to ski or ride, there’s enough snow to slide.

As you start getting out on your skis or board, don’t forget to review the uphill policies at different resorts.

SAVE THE DATES!

Saturday, November 1 - 18th Annual Professional Snow and Avalanche Workshop (PROSAW). The in-person session will be held at the Eccles Center Park City. 1750 Kearns Blvd, Park City, UT 84060. - Information and tickets are available here.

Saturday, December 6 - 18th Annual Utah Snow and Avalanche Workshop (USAW). This session will be held in-person at the Wasatch Jr High School Auditorium. 3750 S 3100 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84109. Information and tickets are available here.

Yesterday we saw a few shallow avalanches trickle in, including a roof slide off the Hellgate Condos and a skier-triggered wind slab in Gunsight at Alta, where a small slab broke on the old snow and ran the length of the chute. This is the first early reminder that once there is enough snow to ride, there is enough snow to slide.

Photo: Gunsight avalanche (LS)

We will continue to update the recent avalanches and observations as they come in.

Final snow totals from this last storm are sitting between 4 and 8 inches, with under an inch of water. Upper Little Cottonwood is currently the winner of precipitation totals.

Through the weekend, cold temperatures stick around with mostly dry conditions and little to no snow, though a weak grazing front Sunday into Monday could bring isolated light precipitation to northern Utah’s higher terrain. Otherwise, skies clear and highs warm into the upper 60s to low 70s in the valleys.

These early storms could lay down our first weak layer of the season, though it’s too early to lose sleep over that. As you head out, watch where the snow melts and where it sticks, since any lingering snow could become a problem layer for future avalanches.

For now, it’s barely worth dusting off the skis or board, hiking boots will do fine. Snowpack across the Wasatch is still under 12 inches, and the main hazard is hitting rocks and other debris. Even with just a few small avalanches reported, a ride through this shallow snowpack could still be consequential.

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.