Utah Avalanche Center aims to educate and prepare
Utah experiences a rollercoaster of snowfall trends, with some years breaking records and others seeing extreme drought. Regardless, the dangers of avalanches remain present for Utahns and those who enjoy the “greatest snow on earth.”
In 1980, the Utah Avalanche Center was founded in an effort to keep Utahns ready for avalanches through forecasts, training and prevention. Since 1951, Utah has had 131 deaths due to avalanches, which ranks as the fourth highest in the United States, according to skiingthebackcountry.com.
Paige Pagnucco, program director and forecaster, has worked at the center for 20 years.
“I oversee all of our education and awareness programming throughout the state,” Pagnucco said. “We do classes for people both on skis and snowboards.”
Utah is home to 15 ski resorts, which brings in many snowsports enthusiasts from around the world who may experience the dangers of an avalanche.
Along with official classes, which run from early December to March, Pagnucco said the center tries to educate people on the mountains.
“We go to trailheads and try to meet people heading up for the day, we make sure they’re aware of avalanche danger, conditions and just general information,” Pagnucco said.
The amount and type of snowfall received greatly impacts the avalanche danger throughout the state. When Utah has a deeper snowpack, it tends to make things more stable.
“We have cycles of instabilities based on the weather, when the snow comes in and what snow is on the ground at the time,” Pagnucco said. “There’s a lot of factors that go into it.”
The center is dedicated to providing training and safety tips to Utah residents, including students at USU.
Greg Davis, the assistant director of USU outdoor programs, works to prepare students for their adventures.
“We’ve been hosting courses for AIARE, which is the American Institute of Avalanche Research and Education, a nonprofit organization,” Davis said. “That organization develops a curriculum for avalanche education.”
Davis and his team work with AIARE to train people on avalanche safety.
“They have professional staff that develops curriculum,” Davis said. “We partner with that organization and so we are a provider, and then myself and other instructors are trained to deliver that curriculum.”
AIARE has online courses for those who are unable to attend in-person, which Outdoor Programs endorses.
“Before you go, they offer very basic awareness courses they can do online,” Davis said. “You learn about some of the elements they have and how to kind of start your education progression. The very first thing is to recognize the potential for avalanches and then kind of educate yourself so that you know where you can and can’t go around mountainous terrain.”
Jeremy Collett, the awareness coordinator at the avalanche center, educates people on safety and awareness when traveling through the snow.
Collett and other members of the center also do rescue training and prepare people for worst-case scenarios.
“We do quite a few avalanche rescue practices,” Collett said. “The goal is to introduce people to the process of avalanche rescue and get hands-on experience with avalanche transceivers, but they also serve as a refresher for folks to take an avalanche course before or on their own time to get practice with professionals.”
Avalanche safety training also includes companion rescue.
“We’re teaching people how to perform a companion rescue of their partner being buried in an avalanche,” Collett said. “Any of the things you learn in that course would essentially keep you from getting caught in an avalanche.”
World-renowned skier and Utah resident Catherine “Kasha” Rigby was caught and killed in an avalanche on Feb. 13.
The accident occurred at a ski resort in Kosovo, a country in southeastern Europe. The Kosovo Mountain Search and Rescue Service said in a Facebook statement they “received a call for help from the resort personnel about two skiers who had gotten lost in foggy conditions.”
Rigby, 54, was found in an area dubbed the “Eagle’s Nest,” which is known for its avalanche risks. She did not survive, despite her career of skiing experience and her skiing partner administering immediate CPR, according to the AP.
Despite the unpredictability of the elements, avalanche safety training can save lives, and Davis urged snowsports enthusiasts to seek further knowledge.
The center website posts updates about forecasts and avalanche danger, and they host regular events open to the public to attend. They train as many as possible to be prepared as well as take action in the case of an avalanche, and encourage people to check the website and its forecasts to “know before you go.”
“People need to be aware of those things. Knowing when to go and where to be is probably the most important thing, and making sure you’re trained and not getting hurt,” Davis said. “There are lots of ways to develop your awareness and education. The avalanche center is probably one of the best places in the country.”