Kate Thayer
Utah's 3rd Annual Avalanche Awareness Week is Upon Us!
Three years ago the Utah Legislature passed House Bill 380, which recognizes the first week of December as Avalanche Awareness Week. Join the Utah Avalanche Center, Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation, Utah State Parks, and Utah Department of Transportation to celebrate the Third Annual Avalanche Awareness week, from December 5- December 11th. The goal of this week is to ultimately save lives through activities that promote avalanche awareness, education, and safety. We have a variety of events to promote avalanche safety this week. See the list of events below; we hope to see you celebrating with us this year!
December 5th- 11th
Batteries for Beacons
Statewide
The goal of this program is to get users free batteries for their avalanche beacons! Bring your beacon into a participating shop, and sign up by scanning a QR Code and providing your name, email, and recreation region. For any customer who signs up and receives batteries, you are eligible for a drawing for 1 of 10 avalanche rescue kits. At the end of Avalanche Awareness Week 10 customers will be drawn for their chance to win!
See a list of participating shops Here
Sunday December 5th
Utah Mountain Adventures Level 1 Refresher
Salt Lake City
7:30 am - 3:30 pm, Field Session
Utah Mountain Adventure's Level 1 Refresher is a single-day, field-based review of key Level 1 concepts and skills. Given that Avalanche Level 1 is such an intense, 24-hour download of information, it's wise to brush-up annually!
More details and sign up Here
Monday December 6th
Community Avalanche Rescue Practice
Salt Lake City - Sugarhouse Park
4:30 pm - 7 pm
Come kick off the 3rd Annual Avalanche Awareness Week with the Utah Avalanche Center! In 2019, the Utah Legislature passed House Bill 380, which recognizes the first week of December as Avalanche Awareness Week. Join the UAC, Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation, Utah State Parks, Wasatch Backcountry Rescue, and Salt Lake County Search and Rescue at Sugarhouse Park to learn more about how to stay safe in the backcountry this winter.
More details Here
Monday December 6th & Tuesday December 7th
Backcountry 101: Introduction to Avalanches
Park City
Monday: 6 pm - 8 pm Virtual
Tuesday: 8 am - 4 pm at Empire Pass
This class is for skiers & snowboarders as an introductory course for those who are new to backcountry skiing and riding. We highly recommend that you have some experience using your touring equipment ie. transitioning your gear into uphill and downhill mode, turning your transceiver on/off into search mode, as well as assembling your probe, and shovel. You can do this in safe areas away from avalanche terrain.
Sign up and details Here
Tuesday December 7th
Pray For Snow Party
Logan
7 pm - 10 pm
Join the Utah Avalanche Center in Logan for the 18th Annual Pray for Snow Party and Fundraiser on Tuesday, Dec 7th from 6:00-10:00 PM at The Cache to support avalanche forecasting, education, and awareness in northern Utah. There'll be music from the Highline Drifters, pizza from Lucky Slice, and a silent auction and opportunity drawing of donated items.
Get your tickets Here!
Tuesday December 7th
Know Before You Go
Utah Valley University - Provo
7 pm - 8 pm
Know Before You Go is a free avalanche awareness program. Not much science, no warnings to stay out of the mountains, no formulas to memorize. In 1 hour, you will see the destructive power of avalanches, understand when and why they happen, and how you can have fun in the mountains and avoid avalanches.
Sign up Here
Wednesday December 8th
UAC Know Before You Go Livestream
5 pm - 6 pm
Sign up Here
Wednesday December 8th
Know Before You Go
Beaver, UT
Link coming soon
Wednesday December 8th
Intro to Avalanche Rescue Course
Ogden
10 am - 2 pm
This class is for skiers, snowboarders, snowmobilers, timbers-sledders snowbikers, hikers, snowshoers - anyone who goes into the backcountry in the winter. This course is designed as an introductory rescue course for those who are new to the backcountry. It can also serve as a refresher for those who do not regularly practice rescue skills or for someone looking to learn the most up-to-date rescue techniques and practices.
Sign up and details Here
Thursday December 9th
Ed Power with Craig Gordon: Dragons in the Snow
Park City Library: 1255 Park Avenue
6 pm
In Dragons in the Snow, Power delves into the research and science behind avalanche forecasting and rescue, weaving in the art of backcountry skiing as well as dramatic tales of avalanche accidents, rescues, and recoveries. And he paints compelling portraits of the men and women who have made the study of avalanches their life’s work. The tales told by these avalanche forecasters, as well as the stories of the backcountry riders who may "wake the dragon" make for not just a compelling read, but also a powerful tool for raising avalanche awareness in everyone who plays in the winter backcountry.
Thursday December 9th
State of then Snowpack
w/ UAC Forecaster Nikki Champion
Lone Pine, SLC
7 pm - 8 pm
Sign up Here
Thursday December 9th
Know Before You Go
Moab Arts & Recreational Center
6 pm - 7 pm
Sign up Here
Thursday December 9th - Sunday December 12th
Utah Mountain Adventures Avalanche Level 1 Class
UMA's Level 1, taught in the ideal backcountry terrain of Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons, is a 24-hr course, standardized in the USA by the American Avalanche Association, and equivalent to AIARE 1. It's designed for backcountry travelers seeking a comprehensive, intermediate-level snow safety course. UMA avalanche instructors are broadly experienced, patient, passionate professionals with an intimate knowledge of the Wasatch Mountains and snowpack. Forty percent of the course is classroom-based. Sixty percent is in the backcountry, in and around avalanche terrain.
More info Here
Friday December 10th
Utah Mountain Adventures's All-Women "Wasatch Mavens" Ski Clinic
The Wasatch Mavens is a women's backcountry ski & snowboard touring program led by professional female guides that inspires and motivates women skiers and riders in the community to get outside of the confines of the resort. Explore boundless terrain, gain new perspectives, learn from experience and bond with like-minded individuals. The entire tour is 7 full Saturday sessions from December to March.
Find more information and the whole tour schedule Here
Friday December 10th
Backcountry Pro's Advanced Backcountry Mentorship - All proceeds go to the UAC!
Zoom Session the night prior at 7 pm
Field Session all day on Friday
We put you in the hot seat while touring and provide critical feedback to help you refine your skills! Our focus is to help you be more efficient while touring and make better decisions on bigger objectives. This is a limited ratio course (3:1) to help facilitate travel and maintain a realistic nature of the touring party size.
More details and sign up Here
Friday December 10th & Saturday December 11th
Utah Mountain Adventures Avalanche Awareness Skills Class
Friday- Class Session
Saturday- Field Session
Introduction to rescue skills and avalanche beacon searches, route finding, snow pack evaluation and minimizing exposure to hazards. Designed as a first avalanche course, or short refresher, this class is ideal for backcountry skiers, snowboarders, mountaineers and snowshoers wishing to make informed route-finding decisions and mitigate risk while traveling in avalanche-prone terrain.
Find more information & additional UMA classes Here
Saturday December 11th
Beaver Mt. Beacon Clinic
Join the Utah Avalanche Center, Utah State University, and Beaver Mountain to learn how to use an avalanche transceiver on Sat Dec 11 from 10am - noon
at Beaver Mt base area. This clinic is free and open to anyone wanting to learn about avalanche transceivers or to brush up on your skills.
Bring your transceiver or borrow one of ours.
Please register by scanning the QR code below.
Be sure to provide an email as that is how we'll communicate any changes about the event.
Be sure to provide an email as that is how we'll communicate any changes about the event.
Saturday December 11th
Family Snowmobile Safety Day - Jordan River OHV Park
Salt Lake City
10 am - 2 pm
Link coming soon
Saturday December 11th & Sunday December 12th
Backcountry Pros Level 1 Refresher
Saturday: 7 pm zoom session
Sunday: Full Field day
An early season must do! Polish up on essential skills to help keep you and your partners safe while traveling in avalanche terrain. This one-day field and touring-based course focuses on strategies to help prime your brain for the coming season. We will review and apply skills students learned or missed in their Level 1 course and put the wheels in motion while on a ski tour.
More details and sign up Here
Sunday December 12th
Know Before You Go
Momentum Climbing Gym - Sandy Location
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Sign up Here
Sunday December 12th- December 16th
American Avalanche Institute Pro Level 1
This course is designed for avalanche workers early in their careers, or for experienced workers wanting to stay current with industry standards. The focus of this course is to prepare students to be contributing members of a risk management team by developing observational skills, as well as communication and rescue skills. During this course, we will focus on developing systems for planning and executing a route, as well as for evaluating snow stability. The goal of this course is to help students become skilled observers who will contribute to a professional team.
Details and sign up Here
Thank you to our Avalanche Awareness Week Partners, Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation and Utah Division of Parks and Recreation!