What started off as a dry December has quickly ramped up to impressive snow totals. But all of the new snow has fallen on top of what’s called a PWL – a persistent weak layer.
Utah Avalanche Center forecaster Trent Messenheimer says for now, stay away from the backcountry.
“Overnight, the mountains just got slammed by storm snow along that upper elevation - we picked up 14 to probably closer to 24 inches of snow now with one to two and even close to three inches of water weight,” Messenheimer said. “Also overnight, we had hourly readings of more than three inches per hour. So that's just meaning that the snowfall is just coming down really hard. And basically, what this is doing is just overloading our mountains.”
The avalanches that are occurring he adds are huge…and they’re not necessarily being set off by humans – they’re occurring on all aspects and elevations, all on their own. There are reports of avalanches three to six feet deep, and hundreds, if not thousands of feet wide.
“The avalanche danger is actually extreme,” he said. “So, it's our highest avalanche danger rating. These are extraordinarily dangerous avalanche conditions. So natural and human triggered avalanches are certain. And our recommendation would be to avoid all avalanche terrain. So, what that means is we're not by anything steep, right? Like if it's approaching 30 degrees or steeper, that's avalanche terrain. We don't want to be underneath any big slopes, we don't want to be hiking up like Daly Canyon, for instance.”
Avalanche terrain is considered anything that’s steeper than 30 degrees and if you don’t know what that looks like, then he says you shouldn’t be out in the backcountry. He advises everyone who travels in the back country to learn to use an inclinometer – most smart phones have one and there are online videos that show how to use one.
Just as dangerous as riding skis, snowboards or a snowmobile he says are those out snowshoeing in avalanche terrain. Always be aware of the slopes above you.
The good news he says is that the snowpack will eventually stabilize.
