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SALT LAKE CITY — The large storm that blasted Utah's mountains with multiple feet of snow over the weekend is causing more avalanche concerns and closures to start this week.
The Utah Department of Transportation announced that it will close off the north side of the Little Cottonwood Canyon backcountry from Gate B to Grizzly Gulch beginning 10 p.m. Monday to 9 a.m. on Tuesday for avalanche equipment testing. The agency will also have crews testing avalanche mitigation equipment, which will close uphill traffic into Little Cottonwood Canyon beginning at 12:30 a.m.
The testing is expected to be wrapped up by 9 a.m., which could cause some morning travel delays. It will also close uphill and downhill traffic for a section of Big Cottonwood Canyon by Storm Mountain from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday for avalanche mitigation testing, as well.
The measures come after the recent storm, which dumped more than 4 feet of snow in parts of the Cottonwood canyons, created the first major avalanche risk of the season. The Utah Avalanche Center says the avalanche risk in the Wasatch Mountains is expected to remain high through at least Tuesday.
It has received reports of at least two dozen natural or human-caused avalanches across the range since Friday, as a result of the "strong northwest winds and relentless heavy snowfall."
Many of the reported slides were in Salt Lake County, including one that caught and carried "a few backcountry riders" on Sunday." The agency said nobody was injured in that avalanche, but it serves as an example of what conditions look like at the moment.
"Folks may not have the mindset that it's not just ski and riding season but it's avalanche season and that's no joke out there," Drew Hardesty, a forecaster with the Utah Avalanche Center, told KSL-TV over the weekend. "These avalanches are big and not to be trifled with."
Utah's snowpack, ski resorts receive major boost from 'beneficial' weekend storm
An atmospheric river that hit parts of Utah this weekend produced more than originally forecast, which provided big-time snow totals in the mountains.Resorts and ski areas in the Cottonwood canyons are also dealing with avalanche mitigation. Andria Huskinson, Alta Ski Area's spokeswoman, said ski patrol officials came across "significant avalanche activity" Monday morning, which forced the ski area to delay its opening time by several hours so that could be addressed.
Nearby Snowbird Resort, which received 53 inches over the weekend, only made its Chickadee lift available on Sunday because of "natural avalanche activity" in other parts of the canyon.
Avalanche experts advise people to avoid going out into backcountry areas with 30-degree or steeper slopes, as well as areas underneath those types of slopes for the time being. That's on top of other avalanche safety basics.
"Know which areas are going to be more dangerous or more safe," Hardesty said. "Go out there with rescue gear: beacon, shovels, probes, maybe avalanche airbag. Go out with a good confident partner. Get educated, let people know where you're going to be (and) come home at the end of the day."
Contributing: Brianna Chavez
