Avalanche experts advise caution
Students and community members who spend time in the mountains outside of ski resorts this winter should educate themselves about avalanches, according to local avalanche experts.
There may not have been much snowfall so far this ski season, but avalanche expert Toby Weed said he expects to see an increase in avalanche danger later this year. Weed works as the Logan area forecaster for the Utah Avalanche Center.
“We’re getting set up for a possible Christmas tragedy this year,” Weed said. “Right now, we don’t have as much avalanche danger in the mountains, but it will pick up pretty drastically when we get a snowstorm.”
Weed said the high-pressure weather currently in the area is creating a layer of weak snow that, if covered by a stronger layer of snow from storms later in the year, could increase the risk of avalanches.
According to the Utah Avalanche Center, four people were killed by avalanches in Utah in 2010.
“The snow on the very bottom of the snowpack is weak and the other snow on top is stronger, so it may have the tendency to break and slide as a unit — as a great big slab down the hill,” Weed said. “Those are fairly deadly.”
Before traveling in the backcountry in the winter, outdoors enthusiasts should check the Avalanche Center’s forecast, available at utahavalanchecenter.org, Weed said.
Dec. 24, 2008, two snowmobilers were killed in an avalanche near Logan Peak, said Sgt. Jake Peterson of the Cache County Sheriff’s Office. Peterson is the commander of the local search and rescue team.
Peterson said it’s difficult for search and rescue to save someone trapped in an avalanche. The chances of a victim surviving decrease drastically after about 15 minutes, he said.
Even in the unlikely event a victim’s partner is able to call search and rescue immediately after an avalanche occurs, he said, and even if weather conditions allow helicopter flight, responders would not be able to reach the victim in just 15 minutes.
Often, the best search and rescue can do is recover the bodies of avalanche victims, Peterson said.
People traveling in the backcountry need to have the proper education and equipment, said USU Outdoor Recreation Program Coordinator Brian Shirley. The ORP will hold a free snow safety clinic Dec 1.
Shirley said clinic won’t go in depth about how to test snow for instability. Rather, the clinic is designed to teach outdoor enthusiasts what avalanche-prone terrain looks like and how to avoid the areas.
More in-depth clinics and seminars will be host by the ORP later in the season in conjunction with Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, Shirley said.
Good equipment can increase the ability to find and rescue an avalanche victim in their party, Weed said.
“Be prepared,” he said. “Everyone in your party needs to have a shovel, a probe and a beacon at the very least,” he said.
Shovels, probes and beacons are available to rent from the ORP.
Peterson said a probe is usually a segmented metal pole, like a tent pole, that can be stuck into the snow to locate buried victims.
“It’s kind of a needle in a haystack approach to avalanche search,” Peterson said.
Peterson said a search is more effective when both the victim and the searchers are wearing avalanche beacons. A beacon, or avalanche transceiver, is a device that transmits an electronic signal. In the event of a burial, a victim’s partners can use their beacon to help locate the victim.
Weed said another effective piece of avalanche safety equipment is an avalanche airbag — a deflated bag attached to a canister of compressed air. In an avalanche, a victim can pull a trigger or a lever to automatically inflate the airbag, creating a breathable air pocket and increasing their buoyancy, along with their chances of being found near the surface of the snow when the snow stops sliding.
Since avalanche rescue equipment is worthless unless you know how to use it, Peterson said he encourages people to train with their equipment.
People need to take precautions before they enter the backcountry, Peterson said.
“Regardless of the season, you need to have a plan,” he said. “Don’t go alone, and tell someone what time to expect you back and what time to push the panic button — so to speak — and call for help.”
– steve.kent@aggiemail.usu.edu