Individuals warned of avalanche danger
A person who gets caught in an avalanche can’t survive very long. After about 18 minutes, a victim has about a 50 percent chance of being dead. If the victim is buried in a very wet snow, they will die faster from asphyxiation, Logan’s avalanche forecaster said.
Toby Weed is the avalanche forecaster for Logan’s Utah Avalanche Center. He assesses avalanche-prone areas and alerts the public through a website, utahavalanchecenter.org.
Weed said while there are things people can do to increase survival changes if they are caught in an avalanche, it is just better to not be caught at all. He said there are about four avalanche fatalities a year in Utah.
“Most avalanche victims do not access our website to check conditions. This is one of the best ways you can be prepared,” Weed said.
Already there has been an in-state fatality this year in the Uintah Mountains. According to a Nov. 29 article on ParkRecord.com, a Park City news site, an avalanche killed an experienced snowmobiler Nov. 26, east of Kamas. The victim was 54-year-old Dennis K. Barnes of Wyoming. He was not wearing an avalanche beacon, and got caught in a slide while snowmobiling. The man was covered in only two feet of snow, but his partner could not dig him out in time.
Weed said another tragic accident happened two years ago on Christmas Eve. Two snowmobilers were killed in Logan Canyon after being caught in an avalanche.
The Utah Avalanche Center website advises on the current level of danger on a scale from low to extreme. It also gives the current weather conditions and recent activity. Weed said there is very rarely an extreme avalanche danger in the Cache Valley area, or they don’t catch it in time to call it extreme.
“We evaluate avalanches based on size and probability. They are most common in the upper elevations around here, but they do happen down low as well,” he said.
The Logan Peak and Tony Grove area are the most common areas where people get into trouble, Weed said. Also, Providence Canyon, Franklin Basin, the Mt. Wellsville wilderness area and Mt. Naomi wilderness area are very avalanche prone. he said.
November through the end of February is generally the most dangerous time for avalanche possibilities in Cache Valley, Weed said. Currently, there is a moderate danger level, but that can change quickly.
“People probably overestimate their knowledge of avalanche terrain or conditions, and a lot of that comes from being really good at the sport they do,” Weed said. “It seems to override peoples’ actual knowledge or experience of avalanches, so they are unprepared and underestimate the conditions.”
An important thing to know is what causes avalanches to occur. One thing that does not cause avalanches is noise, Weed said.
“This is a myth, you could go out there with your 44 and shoot all day and it wouldn’t cause an avalanche,” he said.
What does cause an avalanche is additional weight on the snow pack, Weed said. This can be snowfall on a weak snow pack or someone on a snowmobile.
Part of being prepared for an avalanche is bringing safety equipment, a companion and practicing using the equipment. All parties should bring a shovel, a probe, a beacon and an avalanche airbag, Weed said. An avalanche airbag is a safety device that, when deployed, floats a victim to the surface of an avalanche when it is occurring. Weed said the device is very successful and not too heavy to carry.
According to the Utah Avalanche Center, traveling wisely is key to safety. This means one person at a time should cross steep slopes or avalanche paths. Everyone else should watch from a safe zone.
If a person does become engulfed in an avalanche, Weed said some people say to “swim” or do a barrel roll to get off of the slab.
“Avalanches are a strange medium, it’s flowing? like a river, but it is not like water because it is a solid. That is why the airbags work, it is like a bowl of mixed nuts. When you shake it, all the Brazil nuts come to the top,” Weed said. “That is because they are larger in terms of surface area, and that is what the airbags do, they increase your surface area.”
Trying to get out while the avalanche is occurring is better than waiting for it to stop, Weed said. When the snow stops, it sets up like concrete.
“At that point, you don’t want to have your hands out in a swimming motion, you want to have them in a coughing-form covering your mouth, that way you can create an airspace under your elbow, and put your head under your elbow,” Weed said.
People driving in the mountains can be caught in an avalanche spilling onto the road. Weed said this happens at Little Cottonwood Canyon every once in awhile and there is some potential for it to occur in Logan Canyon.
Weed said people who are stopped by an avalanche coming into the road shouldn’t stop and get out because another one could come down right next to it. The best thing to do is turn around and leave.
The best thing people can do is be aware and educated on avalanches, Weed said. The Utah Avalanche Center offers classes and workshops through their website for a fee as well as free tutorials, like the “Know before you go” awareness video. Also, interested parties can call the Advisory Hotline for current conditions, (888) 999-4019.
“We are finding more and more in research that you just don’t want to be caught in an avalanche at all,” Weed said. “Your chances of survival are very slim.”
– storee.powell@aggiemail.usu.edu