Outdoors

A single-digit temperature greeted us as we pulled off the road along the Narrows at Pineview. Nonetheless, we worked our way down the rocky hill to the lake, and stepped off into some standing water on top of the ice. Not enough to really bother us, we began our walk out toward deeper water.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Organizers of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah on Wednesday unveiled the six cities and venues which will host the 2012 edition of the world-class, professional cycling stage race and community festival, making two stops in Ogden as part of a new format.

Entering its second year as one of the top-rated events in North America for professional road cyclists, the Tour of Utah will continue as a UCI 2.1-rated stage race for 16 teams over six days of competition, set for Aug.

SNOWBASIN -- In just his second year as a professional, Justin Morgan has already had a taste of what every competitive snowboarder strives for.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Police have identified the victim of a Utah backcountry avalanche as a 24-year-old man from the Salt Lake City area.

With a unique 2012 winter upon us, the fishing and hiking and cross country skiing is wildly popluar. Here is this week's update on Utah waters and other outdoor adventure opportunities.

Enjoy!

Two tiny, aquatic critters have devastated fishing waters, plugged water delivery systems and ruined boats all across the nation, but so far, efforts in Utah have largely prevented the spread of quagga and zebra mussels.

In 2007, the Division of Wildlife Resources, the Utah Legislature and several statewide partners launched a massive effort to keep mussels from invading Utah's lakes and reservoirs. The mussels are mainly spread from one body of water to another by hitching a ride on boats.

Since 2007, evidence that quagga or zebra mussels might be in Utah has been found in eight waters. However, as of this month, only one of those waters -- Sand Hollow Reservoir near St. George -- is still classified as possibly having mussels in it, said Larry Dalton, aquatic invasive species coordinator for the DWR.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- An agitated moose ran down and stomped a well-known Bush pilot from Willow, Alaska, but he was saved when his wife grabbed a shovel from their pickup truck and whacked the big animal until it backed off.