Our area has seen some good snow storms that have brought not only the valley several inches but it has dumped in the high country as well. Castle Country Radio was able to speak over the telephone with the Utah Avalanche Center’s Brett Kobernik about the latest conditions.
“This is great, picked up about 12 inches on the north end of the Skyline in the last 24 hours since Monday afternoon and about six inches on the southern end of the Skyline so this has been a great little storm for us,” said Kobernik. This has brought ideal snow conditions to get out and recreate in the backcountry. As always, it’s very important to know the conditions of the area you plan to recreate in.
Right now, officials think we are going in a really good direction they are more concerned about new snow stability. “So we just got this 12 inches of snow up on the Skyline and there may be some concerns within that new snow, we may see some avalanches that are breaking up to 12 inches deep or possibly a little bit deeper in the windy areas. But that stuff should settle out fairly rapidly and I don’t think we are adding enough weight to that old weak layer to have it become reactive again. So I don’t think we’re going to see deep avalanches like we have been seeing,” said Kobernik. Please continue to avoid steep slopes, slopes that are steeper than 30 degrees, especially in the upper elevations where there is the most snow.
Officials don’t want to discourage folks from recreating on public lands but do want them to be aware of the conditions before they head out. “If folks want to get detailed information about what going on day to day, they should check out https://utahavalanchecenter.org/ and search for the Skyline region and there’s a forecast there that is updated by 7:00 am and it will tell you what to expect up in the mountains when you’re going out for that day. So things to look for, what the avalanche danger rating is, how much new snow, what the temperatures are doing, when and such – so there’s definitely information out there for folks,” said Kobernik. When visiting avalanche terrain, it’s also important to have the proper avalanche gear, which includes an avalanche beacon, a probe and a shovel. It’s a good idea to make time to practice with these items so that when it comes to an emergency situation you will know what to do with the gear.