The Science of Avalanches - Lessons from Utah

I recently returned from a ski tour of the Utah Wasatch Mountains. It was my first time in 37 years and I was very at peace with returning to the best snow on earth. However, with great beauty comes great danger, and while I was skiing Snowbasin (below) with my local guide Brent, we saw a helicopter flying in the valley. I asked Brent if there was Heli Skiing in Utah and he said there was, but that helicopter was not one of them. He knew that there was an accident and as it turned out Blake Ford a 21 year old local lift operator got caught in a 1500 foot avalanche slide and was killed.

Below is my interview on ABC Good 4 Utah news explaining the causes of avalanches. We ran into the ABC film crew when we were in Brighton, and apparently there was another slide between Alta and Brighton when we were there. There were 20 slides in three days and all but two were man made. As I explained snow falls in layers, like a cake. The slabs are separated by the timing of the snowfall and the temperatures at the time affects the crust of each layer. When the sun shines on the face of the mountain it can heat up the layer ( like the filling of the cake) and it becomes watery which becomes like  ball bearings and the slab begins to slide. See my interview below:

http://bit.ly/1GsjCUn

A skier crossing a steep pitch can create the energy to make the slab slide. Therefore the dangers are steepness, snowpack and direction of slope face. The south exposed hills are more likely to get heated up and cause the snow pack to melt and cause a slide.

My advice is understand the direction of the face you are skiing when you go out. Listen to safety precautions. Study the snow pack. Worry when it gets warm out. Carry beepers and shovels. Never ski alone. Stay in bounds if you are not trained. If caught in a slide ski out of the gully as the avalanche is like a river and will take the deepest part of the gully.

Big mountains are beautiful,but have great respect for mother nature.

Ski safely,


The Adventure Guy