SALT LAKE CITY – Officials with the Utah Avalanche Center issued a backcountry avalanche warning Friday as the avalanche danger increased to “high” levels in the mountains from Utah County to southeastern Idaho.

Although the warning expires Saturday morning, similar daily warnings are expected over the next few days as heavy snow and strong winds are forecast through the weekend, creating “very dangerous” avalanche conditions.

The agency had previously told skiers, snowboarders, snowmobilers and other outdoor enthusiasts that the danger was expected to rise “high” on many trails in northern Utah and southeastern Idaho, particularly because heavier new snow would increase the “weak, “pre-existing, faceted snow” on the ground.

“This will be a great storm cycle for the mountains of northern Utah … but it will also give us a baseline for very dangerous avalanche conditions,” said Craig Gordon, forecaster for the Utah Avalanche Center.

The warning comes as many people are expected to travel to the mountains during the traditionally busy holiday season. The week between Christmas and New Year often draws crowds. Many people enjoy taking time off from work and being able to try out the new gear they got for Christmas.

As Davy Ratchford, general manager of Snowbasin Resort, puts it, “It’s a great time in Utah right now.”

However, it also comes just a few days after the first major avalanche accident of the season.

Two brothers were caught in a 2-foot-deep, 500-foot-wide avalanche while snowmobiling in the Franklin Basin area of ​​the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest on Christmas Eve. It carried one of the men about 150 meters and buried him completely. He had a beacon with him and his brother used a transceiver to locate him and dug him out of the snow. The man swept away by the avalanche suffered minor injuries, but both men were able to leave the area safely.

Conditions are ideal for avalanches, Utah Avalanche Center forecaster Trent Meisenheimer said in a video the agency released ahead of the holiday and weekend storm cycle.

That’s because new, water-rich snow – up to several feet deep in some areas – is expected to fall on top of snow that has become loose and weak after a long period of warm and dry conditions. National Weather Service meteorologist Michael Wessler adds that this pattern will also bring wind gusts of up to 50-60 mph or more along many mountain ridges.

All the snow on the mountains before Christmas is not expected to be able to hold the fresh snow for long before it collapses and triggers an avalanche.

“There’s no doubt that there hasn’t been much snow in Utah (so far),” Meisenheimer said. “We have a very dangerous snowpack. … Over the course of the weekend and into New Year’s Day, northern Utah will become very dangerous as we see strong winds (and) heavy snowfall.”

The Utah Avalanche Center says anyone planning a trip to the mountains in the next few days should try to avoid backcountry avalanche areas if possible, but at least areas on, under or near slopes with a gradient of 30 degrees or more should be avoided. It also recommends the following:

• Don’t go into the backcountry alone. Bring ready-to-use avalanche rescue equipment and make sure everyone in your group knows how to use it.
• Stay within resort limits as there may be avalanche-prone terrain anywhere outside.
• If you must walk through avalanche terrain, have one person at a time traverse steep slopes while everyone else watches from a safe location.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the most beautiful snow in the world; you just have to exercise a little patience,” Gordon said. “If you want to climb steep slopes, enjoy one of our world-class ski areas where active avalanche prevention is practiced.”

Contributor: Alex Cabrero