The Utah Avalanche Center released its annual report this week. Executive Director Chad Brackelsburg called the statistics “outstanding” and touted his team’s backcountry forecasts, including its daily reports on KPCW.
Utah’s record-setting winter included 1,188 reported avalanches. That’s nearly five times more than the 257 slides that occurred the prior winter. This year 395 of the avalanches were triggered by humans, up 80% from 219 the year before.
Many times throughout the winter, the Utah Department of Transportation closed major roads due to avalanches and avalanche forecasts.
In the spring, that became frequent, especially in Little Cottonwood Canyon as warmer temperatures created heavy top snow layers. Those conditions triggered frequent avalanches in March and April, as well as closures around Alta and Snowbird ski resorts.
This past winter, avalanches caught and carried 92 people and buried 14, of those, three people died. In the winter before, the slides carried 42 people and buried 10, and there were no fatalities.
This year’s casualties all happened in the spring. They included a skier on a guided snowcat backcountry outing in Weber Canyon, a snowmobiler in Pole Canyon, and a person alone at a cabin in the Town of Brighton, apparently clearing snow off of a roof when it slid off and buried him.
Brackelsburg also highlighted the massive snowpack. According to the report, the state’s drainage basins ended up well over 200% of the median snow water equivalent.
The full report is available here.
