By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News
Following the first major snowstorms of the year across the state, many outdoor enthusiasts are excited to get out and hit the fresh powder. However, experts at the Utah Avalanche Center warn that the conditions are prime for human-caused avalanches.
Brett Kobernik from the UAC joined the KOAL newsroom to provide this week’s avalanche forecast.
“As many folks know, we’ve had a very lean winter. But there has been some snow up in the mountains. We’ve been sitting on about two feet of snow up there since December, and it really hasn’t done anything through January,” explained Kobernik. “We went about a month without any snow, but what happens during that time period is the snow that is on the ground becomes weak. It changes into these really weak, sugary, loose crystals, and now what we’ve done is we’ve stacked up about two feet of new snow on top of that.”
Kobernik continued,” There’s been a lot of wind, so many places have much more than two feet of new snow on top of that old weak snow. So this is what’s causing the avalanche problems. This type of situation does not heal itself quickly, either, and so that’s our big concern.”
Unfortunately, the avalanche conditions have already caused a fatality, as a father snowmobiling with his son was killed Wednesday afternoon in Wasatch County. Kobernik said of the incident,” It does demonstrate how dangerous the conditions are right now.”
Kobernik provided some tips on what outdoorsmen should look for while exploring the Manti Skyline: “You should look for recent avalanches. If you see any avalanches around, that is the number one sign of instability. So if you see an avalanche, obviously, things are dangerous.”
He added,” The next thing you want to watch for is any cracking or collapsing of the snowpack. But I can just tell you right now and all your listeners that you don’t even need to look for that stuff. Just take my word for it. It’s a dangerous weekend. The best approach out there is just to stick to low-angle slopes if you want to get out there and enjoy some of this snow. The only way to stay safe, and it’s easy to do, is stick to lower angle slopes that are less than about 30 degrees in steepness.”
Kobernik also discussed what equipment those wishing to brave the elements should bring with them into the high country: “Avalanche beacons are a very important piece of gear to carry, along with an avalanche shovel and an avalanche probe. Those three pieces of equipment are the most important things to carry, and you need to know how to use them.”
Closing our conversation, Kobernik stated,” I think that people have been powder-starved. The weather is going to get nice this weekend, and these avalanche conditions are going to remain dangerous. So stick to the low-angle slopes, and you can have a ball out there and stay safe.”
To stay up to date with avalanche conditions along the Manti Skyline or other mountain ranges across the state, visit utahavalanchecenter.org.