Here to Help: The Utah Avalanche Center’s New Trailhead Avalanche Awareness Program High avalanche danger should = low-angle terrain selection which should = keeping powder-hungry hubris in check. That’s essentially what volunteers with the Utah Avalanche Center’s new Trailhead Avalanche Awareness program were explaining to curious passers-by as they toured past the red UAC tent at the Grizzy Gultch trailhead in Little Cottonwood Canyon last Saturday when snow conditions were concerningly suspect. […] Backcountry Martin Kuprianowicz | December 23, 2020 1 Comment
74 Human-Triggered Avalanches in Colorado in 6 Days | Extremely Weak Snowpack For Much of State Right Now View this post on Instagram A post shared by Friends of CAIC (@friendsofcaic) With much of the inter-mountain West being dry in regards to precipitation for the first part of this winter, snow instabilities have formed. The snowpack is weak in a lot of places—and dangerous. Especially in Colorado. Related: The SnowBrains Podcast – Episode #4 – What’s […] Avalanche AvyBrains | December 16, 2020 1 Comment
Former Avalanche Forecaster Discovers That Approximately ⅓ of Tourer Fatalities in the U.S. Occurred When Tourers Were Ascending Are you traveling in the backcountry this year? Do you spend most of your time identifying avalanche terrain while traveling uphill or downhill? If you think that most avalanche fatalities occur when tourers are going downhill, then you are correct. BUT a shockingly high percentage of avalanche fatalities still occur when tourers are going uphill—32% percent to be exact, according […] Avalanche AvyBrains | December 9, 2020 0 Comments
Avalanche Safety Class Signups Skyrocketing This Season, Likely Due to Pandemic 2020-2021: The season of the backcountry. COVID is still letting some resorts operate—for now. But like an uncomfortable truth that no one wants to admit, ski areas may shut down again this season if ‘Stay at Home’ orders are reenacted due to surging coronavirus infections. And the skiing world knows this, whether or not it’s openly discussed. Related: California Governor […] Industry News Martin Kuprianowicz | December 3, 2020 0 Comments
VIDEO: Utah Avalanche Center Forecaster Warns That it Will Be “A Dangerous Winter in the Wasatch Once It Snows” “There is no doubt that we’re going to have a dangerous winter in the Wasatch once it snows.” – Trent Meisenheimer, Utah Avalanche Center Lack of snowfall has caused the existing snow in the Wasatch to become weak, faceted, and sugary—the perfect recipe for avalanches. And worse yet, there’s no snow expected for northern Utah for at least another week, […] Avalanche AvyBrains | December 3, 2020 1 Comment
The Forgotten Mile-Wide Avalanche That Struck Northern Utah in 1986 | 1 Million Cubic Yards of Snow, 60 FEET of Debris My landlord’s name is Pete. He’s in his sixties and has been skiing here in the Wasatch since he was my age or younger (I am 23). He’s seen his fair share of skiing and avalanches. I was riding up with Pete to Alta Ski Area this afternoon when I learned about the Wood Camp Hollow avalanche that happened in […] Avalanche Martin Kuprianowicz | December 2, 2020 6 Comments
13th Annual Utah Snow and Avalanche Workshop Streaming Live November 10-12 Winter’s knocking—time to kick your avalanche brain into gear. The Utah Avalanche Center will be holding a virtual snow and avalanche workshop next week from Tuesday, November 10 to Thursday, Nov. 10. Utah Snow and Avalanche WorkshopCheck out the details below courtesy of the UAC: The first major storm of the season is quickly approaching and so is the Utah Snow […] Backcountry SnowBrains | November 4, 2020 0 Comments
Utah Avalanche Center Podcast: “Shame and the Social Contract” Up to 90% of non-fatal avalanches do not get reported. But why? In America, there is a strong culture of shaming when it comes to avalanches. No one wants to admit that they messed up and triggered a dangerous avalanche. Related: What I Learned From Triggering an Avalanche in the Backcountry Last Season In this podcast, Utah Avalanche Center forecaster […] Backcountry AvyBrains | October 8, 2020 0 Comments