This week we saw some snow in the valleys which means there were several inches up in the backcountry. Castle Country Radio took time to sit down with Utah Avalanche Center’s Brett Kobernik to get all the details as of Feb. 24.

Last week there was a huge storm that hit the state and it was forecast to bring in several inches of snow to the area. Although, the valleys only saw a few inches the backcountry was hammered on. “So on average across the Skyline and the upper elevations, 9,000 to 11,000 foot range, we picked up about an even foot across most of the range. However, the Fairview Canyon area, the top of Fairview Canyon really got favored by this, in a southwest flow, often favors that area, picked up about two feet of snow at the top of Fairview Canyon. So there was a bit more up there, it was a pretty decent event all over,” said Kobernik. This storm just helped the snowpack in the high terrain which is what our drought like conditions need this year.

The avalanche conditions have been very favorable the last few weeks but this recent storm as change those conditions and folks need to be aware of this. “Now this storm changed things a bit, really the key to this is was the wind. We really had some strong wind pick up mid-day on Wednesday and that transported a lot of snow. This is one of those factors that creates dangerous conditions is wind drifted snow. Things are the most dangerous during when those drifts are forming and directly afterwards,” said Kobernik. Officials state that they were  unable to do some field work because of the strong winds but are sure that they’re was some avalanche activity due to the winds. The great thing about snow drifted winds is that it can stabilize quite quickly which is a good sign if you plan to recreate.

“I’m still urging folks to use caution when getting up to the hills, especially in the higher terrain and steep slopes where there’s any signs of wind drifted snow. So anything that looks pillowy, or you see, perhaps, like vertical lines through the snow or if you’re traveling along and the snow feels stiff underneath, that’s all from wind. If you’re noticing that stuff, avoid being on steep slopes. The slopes steepness you want to keep in mind is about 30 degrees, if you stay on slopes that are less deep then about 30 degrees, then you don’t have any problem with avalanche activities,” said Kobernik. 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.

To keep up to date on avalanche conditions you can visit the Utah Available Center website at https://utahavalanchecenter.org/