Backcountry avalanche warning in place for northern Utah
Dec 27, 2024, 9:00 AM
FILE: Miguel Diaz practices using his beacon in search mode at an event kicking off the 4th annual Avalanche Awareness Week at Sugar House Park on Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. (Ben B. Braun, Deseret News)
(Ben B. Braun, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — Forecasters with the Utah Avalanche Center issued a backcountry avalanche warning Friday morning, to remain in place until Saturday at 6 a.m.
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According to Utah Avalanche Center forecaster Greg Gagne, the warning means people should stay away from avalanche terrain.
“So that’s slopes 30 degrees and steeper,” Gagne told Utah’s Morning News. “We have a high avalanche danger. Both natural and human-triggered avalanches are likely.”
He recommended recreators carry avalanche rescue gear, such as a beacon. The Utah Avalanche Center will give away batteries for avalanche beacons through Feb. 1 at participating stores in the area. Other options include snow probes, a shovel and even airbags that inflate in the event of a slide to protect the user.
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Gagne added that the conditions were already in place to increase the avalanche risk.
“We have had, over the last six weeks, a really weak, unstable snowpack,” Gagne said. “We just have been waiting for enough snow and enough wind to overload it. And it looks like that’s going to happen today,”
Gagne identified the Wasatch Front and Bear River ranges as areas of concern for backcountry danger.
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A backcountry avalanche warning applies specifically to out-of-bounds and ungroomed terrain. It excludes in-bounds areas that receive regular avalanche mitigation.
The Utah Avalanche Center updates its forecast every morning by 7 a.m. You can find the latest conditions and data on avalanche investigations on their website.
Becky Bruce is the news director for KSL NewsRadio.
