In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Scott McIntosh and Black Diamond's Andy Merriman to talk about, well first, good decision making, but then, in the event you get caught in an avalanche, how and why an airbag can potentially help you avoid the worst consequences. In particular, we're taking about BD's innovative JetForce Pro Avalanche Airbag. A study conducted by Dr. McIntosh et al. suggests the JetForce Pro pack could significantly delay asphyxia, buying buried backcountry users valuable additional time for rescue. Scott McIntosh is a physician in the emergency …

Our Week in Review highlights significant snowfall, weather, and avalanche events of the previous week. (Review the archived forecasts for the Salt Lake mountains.) The danger roses for the Salt Lake mountains from Friday, January 29 through Thursday, February 4: Summary: A significant avalanche cycle on Saturday, January 30 with the second avalanche fatality in Utah this season. Since Friday, January 29 thirty-eight avalanches in the Salt Lake mountains are reported to the Utah Avalanche Center (27 alone on Saturday, January 30). You can review all avalanche …

A significant storm impacted southeastern Utah beginning 1-22-2021. Southwest flow and good dynamics produced snowfall totals of 10-20" throughout the range over the course of 3-4 days. Total snow-water-equivilent (SWE) from this storm is about 1.5". The Abajos received around 2.5" of SWE as much of this storm tracked a bit further to the south. During the storm, miracously little wind occured as the Jet Stream was further south over New Mexico. That changed on Wednesday the 27th when consistent southerly winds picked up and gusted from 30-40 mph, transporting snow onto northerly …

Our Week in Review highlights significant snowfall, weather, and avalanche events of the previous week. (Review the archived forecasts for the Salt Lake mountains.) The danger roses for the Salt Lake mountains from Friday, January 22 through Thursday, January 28: Summary: A significant storm over Friday/Saturday, followed by a few days of benign weather. Winds begin to increase on Wednesday, January 27, ahead of a storm system on a southwest flow, leading to escalating avalanche danger. Snow/Water Totals for the week include: Upper Little …

A Seasonal Approach to Terrain Anna Keeling Late December in Utah, a couple of years ago: I was in a second-hand gear shop in Utah. A guy asked me what I thought about conditions on the Salt Lake Twins. At 11,329’ in altitude, the Twins soar 7000 feet above Salt Lake City and there’s a fair amount of terrain to get through to even top out on their windy and lofty summits. People often ask me what I think about conditions. I think about conditions most of the time. I watch the mountains from the valley - whether I am in Castle Hill Village or in Salt Lake …

In this episode, we talk with Jeff Hambelton. Jeff works with avaanche professinals from around the world and across disciplines to build avalanche education tools and train the next generation. In this episode: connecting to your audience, culture-shift after the Valentine's Day slide of 1999 at Mount Baker and the Danny Woods avalanche of 2008; affecting deeper change through social clubs; zone-based comms strategies; the value of simple rules; industry efforts to educate users; the future of motorized safety education. AIARE Motorized Program Manager Jeff works with …