Avalanche Danger in Northern Utah increasing from moderate to high

HUNTSVILLE — There is just something about a good snowstorm, especially for those who got new skis or snowboards from Santa.

“It is going to be a busy week for everybody in Utah in the ski industry,” Davy Ratchford said with a smile. “It is a great time in Utah right now. We are all excited.”

Ratchford is the chief operating officer for Snowbasin Resort, which was busy Thursday afternoon with skiers and snowboarders on the mountains.

However, not everyone heading into the mountains will be skiing at resorts.

Many enjoy fresh backcountry powder, which is where Craig Gordon comes in. “This is going to be a great storm cycle for the mountains of northern Utah,” Gordon said.

Gordon has dedicated his career to not only avalanche forecasting with the Utah Avalanche Center but most importantly letting people know where it is dangerous.

With this storm continuing over the next few days, he is a little nervous.

“This is going to be great snow for all of our mountains, but it is also going to give us a setup for very dangerous avalanche conditions,” he said.

Even though conditions as of Thursday afternoon were moderate, the danger was quickly increasing and expected to be considered high. By Friday, National Weather Service avalanche alerts were sent out in the Uinta and Wasatch Mountains, stating the conditions were considerably dangerous, especially in the Wasatch and Bear River Rangers. The warnings would stay active through Saturday.

The new snow falling in the mountains from this storm is going to overload the weaker snow base that was already there, which means an avalanche could be triggered by someone even a few hundred feet away.

“We had a dry spell in December, and that is a weak layer we are referring to, we are going to put a dense slab on top of this,” Gordon said. “That is going to make things tricky.”

Just a couple of days ago, the first accident of the year happened in the mountains near Logan when a man snowmobiling was caught and fully buried in an avalanche.

He was wearing a beacon, which allowed his brother to find and rescue him.

Gordon knows they don’t always end that well, which is why he is asking everyone heading into the backcountry. to be as safe as possible.

“It doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the greatest snow on Earth,” he said. “You just got to practice some patience. Hey, if you want to get on steep slopes, enjoy one of our world-class ski resorts where active avalanche mitigation is being performed.”

Some backcountry safety tips from the Utah Avalanche Center: avoid slopes steeper than 30 degrees, make sure everyone in your group has avalanche rescue gear, and if you do head out, don’t go alone.

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Contributing: Mary Culbertson, KSL TV