Salt Lake City, UT – The sweltering dog days of summer in Utah will eventually give way to a refreshing burst of winter, and Ski Utah will kick-off their official 100 day countdown to the ski season on Aug. 7 at the Salt Lake City Farmer’s Market. Ski Utah will take one dollar donations in exchange for flavorful yellow snow cones provided by Snowie to benefit Wasatch Backcountry Rescue (WBR) avalanche dogs. Dogs will also be on hand to perform skills demonstrations and Utah ski resorts will hand out doggy bags full of swag and resort information.nWasatch Backcountry Rescue is a nonprofit Utah corporation, incorporated in 1977 to provide life-saving rescue and recovery services to the general public.

“Dog teams reduce the number of personnel exposed to further hazard,” said Jake Hutchinson, director of ski patrol for The Canyons Resort. “One canine team can do the job of more than 150 people searching with probes in rock-hard avalanche debris.”

Ski Utah is also reminding families to apply now for the Ski Utah Fifth and Sixth Grade Passports. Through the programs, fifth graders can ski or snowboard 39 times for $25 and sixth graders can enjoy 13 days on the slopes for $20. For more information visit www.skiutah.com/winter/locals.

The Aug. 7 event will also serve as the kick-off to Ski Utah’s Ultimate Powder Hound search. Ski Utah is searching for the Ultimate Powder Hound to join their blogging team. As part of the blog team, the Ultimate Powder Hound will be awarded a Ski Utah Silver Pass which enables them to ski 30 days each at every Utah ski resort.

Ski Utah has never before awarded a Sliver Pass as a contest prize. Entrants are required to fill out a short application and submit a 30 second video on why they should be selected as the Ultimate Powder Hound. For information visit www.skiutah.com/powderhound.