The big news is that we're seeing a change in the weather pattern. Our partners at the NWS have issued a winter weather advisory from 5am Monday to 7pm Tuesday and are forecasting 6-12" of new snow with locally higher amounts in the Cottonwood Canyons.

Under mostly cloudy skies trailhead temperatures are in the high teens F and 11,000' ridgelines are in the single digits F. Northwest winds at the 9000' ridgelines in the teens (mph) and 11,000' ridgeline winds are gusting to the 30's (mph). Ski areas reported an inch of new snow overnight that should only improve the skiing.

Backcountry travel remains generally easy with good riding conditions on lower angle north-east facing slopes. Some wind and sun damage exists in the alpine and on solar aspects.

Snow depths are 3-4' in the upper reaches of the Cottonwoods and 2-3' along the Park City ridgeline. Ogden snow depths are 2-3' and the Provo area mountains have 1-2' of snow on the ground.

The last reported loose dry avalanche was from November 20th in Mill Creek and the surface snow has only become weaker since then. Observations over the last couple of weeks have included reports of weak faceted surface snow which will not bond well to this next storm. Knowing which aspects hold this current surface weakness will help with future terrain selection. An older patroller told me a long time ago that today's snow surface has the potential to be tomorrow's weak layer.