The Utah Avalanche Center is thrilled to announce leadership changes in both the Forest Service and Nonprofit groups. Leadership Transition at the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center Effective May 5, 2024, Paige Pagnucco replaces Mark Staples, who successfully led the team for 9 seasons. She has worked at the Nonprofit Utah Avalanche Center (UAC) for the past 19 years in numerous roles, most recently as Program Director, overseeing the avalanche awareness and education programs. In addition to her Program Director role, she forecasted for the Logan region, worked as a highway …

Remember Warren Miller’s famous quote, “If you don’t do it this year, you’ll be one year older when you do”? I like to think Warren meant to say, ‘If you don’t do it this spring, you’ll be one year older when you do.’ Spring is a coveted season in the backcountry, and typically, it’s the time of year to go after bigger objectives. As the days become longer and lingering weak layers trend dormant, the avalanche problems often become more manageable. In this perception of safety, however, we continue to see riders getting caught and carried in avalanches. In March 2024, …

Is it Really LOW Danger? I have a unique relationship with LOW avalanche danger, especially when LOW is actually MODERATE (but that’s a different story). But there are a few things I have learned over the years about our perception and response to this rare and interesting danger rating and I'd like to share some of those with you. But first let's back up a bit. One of our most fundamental risk management strategies - whether we are riding the backcountry, alpine climbing, paragliding, or kayaking - is to adjust our choices (what, how, when, where, with whom) …

It’s now March and most years our deep, persistent weak layer (PWL) problems are usually turning the corner meaning they have gained strength, or are deeply buried by a strong, overriding snowpack, or both. This is the time of year when we usually start setting our sights on bigger lines once new and wind drifted snow instabilities have settled out. So, what’s going on this season? Why do we remain concerned about weak, faceted snow at the base of the snowpack, and what’s it going to take for those concerns to go away? To be clear, we are in a “low probability, high …

Did you know the UAC has a podcast? Benjamin Bombard and Drew Hardesty host guests to discuss all matters backcountry, snow, and avalanches. Learn from a cadre of experienced folks with life lessons to share. Click here to find all of our podcast episodes.

This article is from the Salt Lake Tribune published February 10, 1939. This article was accessed from www.newspapers.com on January 24, 2024.

Wind, Drifting, and Avalanches According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “Wind is the movement of air caused by the uneven heating of the Earth by the sun.” Indeed, other environmental elements are at play, like gravity, fluid and gas dynamics, weather systems, and the earth’s spinning, but causes aside, NOAA is clear, “Wind is simply air in motion.” In the mountains, wind has a considerable influence on avalanche phenomena. Drifting of falling snow and snow already on the ground creates heavy deposits or drifts in avalanche-starting zones. These …