Utah Avalanche Center aims to strengthen back country safety awareness with events all week
Dec 2, 2024, 6:33 PM | Updated: 6:59 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – The US Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center is sponsoring events all over the state as part of their 6th annual Avalanche Awareness Week.
A kickoff party Monday night offered rescue drills, as well as a chance to meet with industry vendors, search and rescue volunteers, and avalanche forecasters.
“We believe that avalanche education is a lifelong journey,” Caroline Miller, the executive director of the nonprofit arm of the Utah Avalanche Center, said. “It’s a great reminder to practice rescue training, rescue drills, and make sure that your gear is prepared for the season.”
A wide range of events will be available statewide this week, including safety presentations, an avalanche workshop, and even locations where skiers can replace the batteries in their beacons.
Utah Avalanche Center to host several Avalanche Awareness Week events
“We give them the tools that they’re going to need to start, diving deeper into their backcountry education,” Miller said. “And for us, it just gives us the opportunity to do what we love most, which is inform people about avalanche safety, give them the tools to safely navigate the backcountry and make informed decisions if they want to recreate in the backcountry in the winter.”
Utah Avalanche Week became official in 2019 after a bill, passed by the state legislature, designated the first week of December for the event each year.
