Three people died in separate avalanche accidents in the past week, with a fourth in critical condition. We're not messing around: dial it back. Walk back in the door tonight.
- 2/18 Ant Knolls, Wasatch Back Fatality — Snowmobiler. Preliminary report HERE.
- 2/19 Rock Garden, BCC Backcountry Fatality — 11-year-old skier. Preliminary report HERE.
- 2/21 Butler Basin, BCC Backcountry 1 Injured, 1 in Critical Condition — Backcountry skiers. Preliminary report HERE.
- 2/22 Caribou Basin, Snake Creek Fatality — Snowbiker. Preliminary report HERE.
It took some time to read through that long list, didn't it? Let's not add to it today. Our sincerest condolences are with all those impacted.
Yesterday, a partly sunny day with rising temperatures from recent days began to heat up surface snow, with the beginnings of wet snow issues reported. Winds shifted from out of the SW to more westerly overnight, blowing in the 30s mph at ridgelines with gusts as high as 65 mph on Hidden Peak.
Today, westerly winds are continuing to build as a wet and warm system arrives on SW flow. While the timing of when the precipitation will arrive is uncertain—late morning through afternoon is our best guess—the freezing levels mean something a bit more certain: rain on snow. Freezing levels will start at 7800' this morning before rising to as high as 9800' feet this evening as precipitation rolls in. We can expect near 0.5" of H2O and not a whole lot of snow by 8pm tonight.
Forecaster's Corner—If you get one thing out of today's forecast, I hope it's this: three people have died in less than a week in avalanche accidents, with a fourth in critical condition. When an avalanche fatality happens, it doesn’t just affect the victim and the partners present. An avalanche fatality has ripples throughout the victim’s family, through their community, through the rescuers who help bring them home. The lives and perspectives of each of the people who were with each of the avalanche victims during these accidents will be forever changed by tragedy. So I ask you today: is riding the steep slope worth that? Not only for you, but for those around you, and those in your community.
Don't be tricked by tracks: MAC was the fifth person to ski a slope in W. Porter yesterday before triggering a 2’ deep, 100’ wide slab on the JDL.
Where do we start? In the past week, more than 60 avalanches have been reported to the UAC, with easily many more that we haven't heard of. In addition to the three fatalities this past week, avalanche accidents on Saturday included:
- Chicken S&$t Ridge where a snowboarder was caught and carried, sustaining a leg injury.
- Butler Basin where two skiers were ascending a steep, north-facing slope and triggered an avalanche up to two feet deep and 250 feet wide. Both skiers were completely buried. Fortunately, other skiers in the area saw the slide and rescued both. One rider had a leg injury, while the other is in the hospital in critical condition.
- Ant Knolls a close call/near miss where a snowmobiler was caught and carried, fortunately ending up on top of the debris. The avalanche was up to three feet deep and 500 feet wide.
All of these avalanches occurred in northerly-facing terrain and failed on the "Dry January" PWL layer that is now buried 1-3 feet deep. Many of these avalanches were remotely triggered from ridgelines or below the steeper slopes, such as Sunday's avalanche in Millcreek Canyon shown in the photo below.
Remotely-triggered avalanche in Millcreek Canyon on Sunday failing on PWL. [Photo: C Gregersen]
