With mountains expecting big snow, forecasters say avalanche danger will escalate

SALT LAKE COUNTY — Forecasters were cautioning Thursday about escalating avalanche danger heading into the weekend as snow began to fall over areas of Northern Utah. With potential feet of snow expected in the mountains, Utah Avalanche Center forecaster Craig Gordon said it was imperative people avoid steep, north-facing slopes and go out to the backcountry only when armed with information from the latest avalanche forecasts as well as essential gear like shovels and working beacons. He told KSL TV it was just as important for families to be cautious as backcountry adventurers. “Any of our trailheads are surrounded by avalanche terrain,” Gordon said. “I mean, you step out of the car, you walk a couple hundred yards and we’re surrounded by steep, avalanche-prone slopes.” Forecasters said the snowpack had already proven to be recently deadly and generally dangerous before the latest storm. “We’ve got a very complex snowpack and trying to outguess it, trying to outsmart the snowpack is not a business model for success,” Gordon said. “Any avalanche we trigger has the potential to break deeper and wider than we might expect, and that could create an unsurvivable avalanche.” Maya Parsons was returning from backcountry skiing earlier Friday and said conditions were already a little tenuous in certain spots. “Today we were going to go to another area, but the conditions changed so fast,” she said. “There was a lot of wind loading on the snow, and we actually changed our course because there was cracking and we went to a safer area.” She urged others heading to the backcountry in the days ahead to be careful. “This weekend, there’s going to be a lot of snow and the danger is going to go up really fast,” Parsons said. “Making quick decisions while you’re out on the snow to be the safest you can is super important.”

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