I dropped a vehicle off at Brett Kobernik's house yesterdayand caught him working in his garage. I thought others would be amazed, as I always am,in a look behind the scenes ofthe skunkworks of the Utah Avalanche Center and the genius of Brett Kobernik. Here, on the left, he has a couple of motorcycles converted into snow bikes with a snowmobile track on the back and a ski in the front. He usually rides these instead of snowmobiles because they are so much more nimble and easier to get unstuck. On the right, he has built a prototype of a mobile weather station with …

Guilt from Drew Hardesty on Vimeo. A few years ago, one of my best friends was caught in an avalanche somewhere north of here. The avalanche was triggered from above - another skier on the slope - and as the Leviathan roared down, he pushed another skier out of the way toward safety...and suffered the onslaught of the avalanche. Deep within the stomach of the whale, he pulled the trigger on the avalanche airbag. "It was like the hand of God that pulled me up toward the surface and I survived." He's the only person I know that has had two very different experiences …

Request for more data sets for Eric Knoff in the Gallatin NF Av Ctr ​From the other day - PST (Propagation Saw Tests) tend to have a higher "false stable" ratio thanECTs(Extended Column Tests) but may be preferable when one has a deeper weakness of concern. Eric Knoff(retired Snowbird) and current Gallatin NF Avalanche Center forecaster wrote a paper on horizontal pit-wall PSTs andpublished itat this fall's ISSW. Hisdata indicate that CPSTs share similar critical cut lengths as standard PSTs, with 75% of critical cut lengths falling within 10 cm of each other. …

Everyone who enjoys the snow in the backcountry should practice Companion Avalanche Rescue. If you get caught in an avalanche, your best hope for survival lies in the hands of your companions. A bit of practice will make your crewmore efficient and faster in a critical race against time. The seconds and minutes you'll save if someone is buriedcould bethe difference between life and death. This video is not meant to be a stand-alone resource. Many more in-depth descriptions of the companion rescue process exist, butwe recommend that you follow up your research …

What is your Level of Acceptable Risk? How did you determine this? Some will center-punch Superior on a CONSIDERABLE danger while others feel happy going to Powder Park everyday. Everyone is different and it's insulting at worst and a waste of time at best to look askance at others who are on either end of the pendulum. It's - how shall we say - inelegant to look upon some as suicidal and others as boring and unfulfilled. The key points here are To be aware of your level of acceptable risk Understand factors that may influence your risk …

Confused about the terms Watch and Warning? You're not alone.The termsWatchandWarninghave been used by the National Weather Service for many years to warn the public and media about especially dangerous weather that isexpected,imminent or occurring.Since we have been co-located with the National Weather Service office since 1980, we have always utilized Watch and Warnings to warn about especially dangerous avalanche conditions. It also helps to reach the public that wouldn't otherwise get avalanche information our avalanche phone lines or website. The Purpose of …