Category Archives: Ski News

Avalanches Starting Early In The Wasatch


 

Leave it to anxious early season skiers to set off an avalanche on slopes with only 20″ of snow. It’s an annual rite of ski passage to hike the face of Alta Ski Resort before the lifts spin. Well, today four slides have set the wheels of safety in motion. Alta is out for uphill traffic. They had planned to close tonight to prep for the November 18 opening but what’s a few extra hours early if it means lives saved.

There’s a weak October snow layer beneath this weekend’s heavy new snow. Guess what that means?

The unstable snowpack made for treacherous skiing Sunday afternoon. One person is already in the ER with a busted leg. People, it’s too early to redshirt yourselves. The Utah Avalanche Center has reported at least four rips; three definitely human-triggered, and the fourth one is probably one as well. All four were at the as-yet closed Alta Ski Resort. Therefore, you could say the avis were in the backcountry.

It’s snowing in PC (3pm, Sunday) but the forecast for the rest of the week looks like partly cloudy skies and warm temps. Weatherbug says that we’ve got about 70 percent chance for more snow by the weekend. Please be safe out there. The snowpack is funky, the coverage thin and honestly consider whether it’s worth the risk for those few early season turns. You can’t just think that because you’re skiing at a (closed) resort that the skiing is safe. Check in with the UAC at www.utahavalanchecenter.org or call 888-999-4019.


 

Avalanche Center Ready To Roll

Stay on top of the snow instead of buried under it. Finally, the winter seems to be off and running which means that with each storm, the avalanche danger is going to jack. The Utah Avalanche Center is the source for avalanche conditions in the Wasatch. Starting today, the UAFC will blast intermittent updates as needed. They’ll go full bore around mid-November on various radio stations and Utah’s KSL on Saturday mornings. The non-profit will pinpoint five regions around Utah before you head out for the day.

In 93 percent of avalanche fatalities, the victim, or someone in the victim’s party, triggers the slide that kills them. This means that the vast majority of avalanche accidents don’t happen by chance. They happen to the stupid and the cocky. Before you go out of bounds know what you’re getting into. Take a basic avalanche class and check the daily avalanche advisory. If you’ve never seen the Know Before You Go video, take a look. You can learn a lot about avis in under 10 minutes.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWDK0cD2S8c&w=420&h=315]

UtahAvalancheCenter.org is loaded with avalanche insights, updates and accident reports. You can also call 888-999-4019 and follow UAFC on Twitter (UACwasatch) and Facebook.

Another super cool Twitterer is @UDOTavy for info on road closures in Little Cottonwood, Big Cottonwood and Provo canyons.


Snowbird Winds Down

I made it to Snowbird before it was too late. The last “regular” Sunday of the season brings out all of the local riff-raff (The Bird will be open weekends through Memorial Day). Like the final day at Alta where the crowd gathers on top of High Rustler, core riders arrived at the top of Hidden Peak to party and celebrate what has come to be one of the biggest powder seasons of the decade. Beer, barbecues, buddies. As a fitting close, the sunny skies crowded in and squeezed out a shower of heavy, wet snow for my run. With the Peruvian side now off limits, I made my way through the thick waves of resort slush, alternately zipping and stopping as the softer sections grabbed my ski bases then released them. As I wound down Regulator, every turn echoed the epic runs of the season – at Snowbasin. Alta, Solitude, Tahoe, Park City, The Canyons, Jackson. This was going to be a very long summer.

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