After a dry snow season so far, avalanche danger across Utah’s central and northern mountains is expected to skyrocket this weekend, posing a significant threat to anyone planning to hit the backcountry slopes.
And with the National Weather Service forecasting lots of wind and a “considerable” amount of snow into early next week, that risk could continue for some time.
“I don’t mean to be the bearer of bad news here, but honestly, we’re doomed in Utah for a very dangerous winter,” avalanche forecaster Trent Meisenheimer with the Utah Avalanche Center said this week.
Meisenheimer said this kind of danger arises when there is only early, shallow snow, leading to a base layer that hasn’t bonded well that is known as “faceted grain.”
“It’s like trying to make a snowball out of sugar,” he said.
When a fresh snow slab then collects on top of that base layer, there is no strong foundation — creating the perfect circumstances for avalanches.
“These are the types of avalanches that catch, carry and kill people. This is like the worst setup you could have,” Meisenheimer said.
The only way to mitigate the issue is more consistent snowfall, he said. “We want to start burying this weak layer greater than a meter deep.”
Once that happens, he said, the snow can begin to bond. But that could take weeks.
“If it snows a foot and then we don’t get more snow, that snow is going to get rotten and weak and fasted out as well,” he said.
He stressed that anytime snow has a stronger top layer, there is a risk of avalanches.
“But this is a different story,” he said. “This week’s snow is here to stay for a while. So that’s why we’re pushing really hard to get our message out there to the public that riding in avalanche terrain — which is slopes over 30 degrees in steepness — is not advised.”
Even before the expected storms, the Utah Avalanche Center reported this week that a man snowmobiling in the Steep Hollow area of Cache Valley on Christmas Eve triggered an avalanche that buried his brother.
Using a transceiver and spotting a few gloved fingers above the snow, the man was able to get his brother out, and his injuries were minor.
The Utah Avalanche Center offered the following safety tips:
Staying out of backcountry avalanche terrain is the safest option; avoid slopes steeper than 30 degrees.
Make sure everyone in the group has avalanche rescue gear that they know how to use.
Ski resort patrons who leave resort boundaries should know they could enter avalanche territory.
Don’t go into the backcountry alone. When crossing avalanche terrain, have one person cross at a time and watch from a safe distance away.
