FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 

1

Snow and Avalanches in Utah 

Annual Report 2000-2001

Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center 

In partnership with: 

Friends of the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center 

National Weather Service 

Utah Division of Comprehensive Emergency Management 

Salt Lake County 

Utah State University 

Utah State Parks and Recreation 
ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER 

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Cover photo: Meadow Chutes in Silver Fork of Big Cottonwood Canyon 

by Bruce Tremper 

Copies of this report can be obtained by writing or calling: 

Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center 

2242 W. North Temple 

Salt Lake City, UT 84116 

(801) 524-5304 phone 

(801) 524-4030 fax 

 

Or view online at: 

www.avalanche.org 
FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 

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The Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center -- An Overview 

 

Our goal: 

Help keep people on top of the Greatest Snow on Earth instead of buried beneath it. 

Where do avalanche accidents occur? 

Ninety nine percent of all avalanche fatalities occur in the backcountry—areas outside of 

ski area boundaries where no avalanche control is done. Ski areas and highway 

avalanche control crews routinely knock down avalanches with explosives before the 

public arrives each morning. They have done their jobs so well that since 1980, less 

than one percent of avalanche fatalities have involved general public on open runs at ski 

areas or on open highways. 

What kind of people get caught in avalanches? 

Ninety two percent of people killed in avalanches since 1985 have been recreationists, 

and they are almost always very skilled in their sport. In almost all cases their skill in 

their sport significantly outpaces their avalanche skills. Looking at the most recent 5 

years of national data, nearly twice as many snowmobilers have been killed as any other 

user group, followed by climbers, backcountry skiers, snowboarders and miscellaneous 

recreationists such as hikers and snowshoers. 

How do people get caught? 

In over 90 percent of avalanche fatalities, the avalanche was triggered by the victim or 

someone in the victim’s party. As Pogo says, “We have met the enemy and it is us.” 

Which is actually good, because it means that, 90 percent of the time, we can avoid 

avalanche accidents through our route finding and snow stability decisions. 

In summary, avalanche fatalities occur almost exclusively in the backcountry, almost 

always involve recreationists, and almost all avalanche incidents can be avoided if we 

choose. 
ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER 

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How we help solve the problem: 

We give backcountry travelers the weapon of knowledge. In order to avoid triggering 

avalanches, backcountry travelers need: 

Critical, up-to-date avalanche information. 

We issue daily avalanche advisories that give the public important avalanche information 

they need to make their life-and-death decisions in avalanche terrain. And we also 

forecast snow stability and weather trends into the future. Our information helps the 

public to decide what kind of terrain is safe, what kind is dangerous and we give them 

useful clues to look for when they venture into avalanche terrain. 

We provide information on current avalanche conditions primarily through our avalanche 

advisories. People access these by: 

 Recorded telephone message updated each day 

 Live interviews each day on three different public radio stations 

 The Internet 

 Faxes sent out each morning to businesses and Forest Service offices 

 In times of extreme or unusual avalanche conditions, we issue an avalanche 

warning that reaches all the broadcast and print media as well as NOAA weather 

radio. 

Finally, we “preach the avalanche gospel” as much as possible to the local, national and 

international media. This season, for instance, several documentaries played on 

national television including National Geographic and several on the Discovery Channel, 

PBS and the Weather Channel. FSUAC staff is featured in most of these 

documentaries. 

Avalanche education: 

We teach about 50 free, basic avalanche awareness classes each season. These not 

only give the public an overview of the avalanche problem, but also some basic 

avalanche skills. These classes encourage the public to take a more involved avalanche 

class offered by the private sector. 
FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 

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Our Philosophy 

Just because people hear the information doesn’t mean they listen. Therefore, we try to 

make the advisories entertaining so that people will remember what they hear and enjoy 

the experience enough to use the advisories regularly. We try and use all the standard 

tools of effective writing and speaking such as using active voice, first person, personal 

examples and stories to illustrate points, humor where appropriate and reading the 

bulletins in a natural voice, like talking to a friend. The recorded bulletins are informal, 

chatty and funny, yet informative. It also makes our work fun. 

 

We believe local forecasters do a much better job than distant forecasters. 

Local people know local conditions better. They can get out in the mountains every day, 

they see it from their window and they talk with people on the street about it. Because of 

this, we believe that local people should issue avalanche bulletins for local areas, as 

long as they have the avalanche skills to do so. For this reason, four crews of avalanche 

forecasters operate in Utah, one in Logan, another in Salt Lake City, one on the Manti 

Skyline and a fourth in Moab. 

We believe in a strong field-based program. 

Avalanche forecasting is more of an art than a science. And because of this, computers 

never have, and most likely never will, be able to forecast avalanche hazard as well as 

an experienced and skilled human being. Avalanche forecasting works best when the 

person putting out the forecast has an intimate, daily connection to the snowpack. We 

notice that the longer we spend in an office, the more out of touch with the snowpack we 

become. Therefore we always put in one or more field days before our forecasting shift, 

and we seldom have more than two forecast days in a row. 

This is our philosophy and it seems to be working. More people access the FSUAC 

bulletin each season than any other avalanche advisory in North America, and the 

number keep increasing by an average of 20 percent per year. The numbers of people 

going into the backcountry keep increasing exponentially, yet the death rate has risen 

more slowly. We also see an increasing demand for avalanche education and 

information, not only by Utahans, but also by the national and international media. 

 

We are very passionate about our work because it’s more than a job, it saves lives. 
ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER 

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A look Under the Hood 

The UAC is operationally separated into four entities: 

• Bear River drainage (Logan area – northern Utah and southeast Idaho) 

• Wasatch Mountains (Ogden, Salt Lake, Park City and Provo area mountains) 

• Manti Skyline (Fairfield Canyon – Wasatch Plateau) 

• La Sal Mountains (near Moab) 

Greg Johnson heads the Logan operation with Spencer Logan as an assistant. Spencer 

is employed by Utah State University. In past years, the Logan center was run entirely 

by Utah State University, but this season, Mike Jenkins took over as the head of snow 

safety at Snowbasin. So this year for the first time, we hired a Forest Service forecaster 

to work the Logan Operation. We hope that we can find funding to continue this position 

for the long term. 

In Moab, Faerthen Felix was the program director with a part-time staff of Eric 

Trenbeath. The Moab office is located in the Moab Ranger District on the Manti-Lasal 

National Forest. Faerthen will not return next season as she has accepted a better 

employment opportunity in California. 

The Manti Skyline (Wasatch Plateau) avalanche forecast was issued for weekends-only 

by Craig Gordon and Eric Trenbeath. Funding for this program comes from a generous 

grant from the National Recreation Trails Program administered through Utah State 

Parks. Craig and Eric work part time as snowmobile avalanche educators and part time 

as forecasters for the Manti Skyline. In its first full season of operation, it was a very 

successful program. 

 

Last, but not least, the vast majority of the backcountry use occurs in the Wasatch 

Range of northern Utah. A staff of six full time workers cover the Ogden, Salt Lake City, 

Park City and Provo area mountains—arguably the most heavily used mountain range in 

the U.S. Bruce Tremper, in his 15th season, is the Co-Director along with Evelyn Lees. 

This season, Tremper spent most of his time working on Olympic-related avalanche 

issues while Lees oversaw the day-to-day operations. Although Bruce Tremper and 

Evelyn Lees spend most of their time in the Wasatch operation, they oversee all three 

operations to insure consistency in quality. The rest of the very experienced Salt Lake 

staff include: Tom Kimbrough, Carol Ciliberti, Ethan Greene and Jeff Brown. All are 

Forest Service employees and this season, organizational oversight was transferred 

from the Intermountain Regional Office to the Wasatch-Cache National Forest. The Salt 

Lake office is co-located with the National Weather Service at the Salt Lake International 

Airport. 

Lastly, a private, nonprofit group, the Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, contracts 

the intrepid Bob Athey as a full time backcountry observer. 

The Utah Avalanche Center is a Forest Service program under the Wasatch-Cache 

National Forest and the Manti-La Sal National Forest, in partnership with Utah State 
FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 

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University, the State of Utah Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency 

Management, Salt Lake County, the National Weather Service and private contributions 

through the Friends of the Utah Avalanche Forecast Center. 

The public can access the bulletins in the following ways:

Telephone:

Salt Lake City - (24 phone lines) (801) 364-1581 

Logan (multi-line PBX system at Utah State University) (435) 797-4146 

Park City (multi-line PBX system at Park City Resort) (435) 658-5512 

Ogden (multi-line PBX system at Weber State University) (801) 626-8600 

Provo (multi-line PBX system at Brigham Young University) (435) 378-4333 

Alta (multi-line PBX system through the Town of Alta) (801) 742-0830 

Moab (single phone line) (435) 259-7669 

Manti Skyline (courtesy of Utah State Parks) (800) 648-7433 

Snowmobile hotline (courtesy of Utah State Parks) (800) 648-7433 

Radio Stations (live on-air reports each morning around 8:00 am) 

KRCL 91 FM 

KPCW 92 FM 

KCPW 105.7 FM 

Internet:

http://www.avalanche.org 

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/Saltlake 

http://www.csac.org 

Fax:

We operate an automated fax distribution of the bulletin for selected businesses and 

Forest Service offices that post a hard copy for the public to read. 

To contact our office: (801) 524-5304 (phone) 

 (801) 524-4030 (fax) 

e-mail: uafc@avalanche.org
ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER 

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How we Generate Avalanche Advisories 

The Utah Avalanche Center is the interface between avalanches and the public. People 

who venture into backcountry avalanche terrain literally make life and death decisions 

based partly on critical avalanche that we provide, so we take our jobs very seriously. 

We often think of ourselves as natural detectives. We gather as much information as 

possible, we torture the data until it confesses, and then we communicate our analysis to 

the public. Each day we look at weather, talk to ski area avalanche control programs, 

helicopter ski companies, highway control programs and volunteers, but our most 

important source of information comes from us, from our up-close-and-personal work 

with snowpack. We regularly travel into the mountains, where we not only get our best 

information, but it's where we test out theories in an unequivocal way—sometimes with 

our own lives. 

We split our time more or less equally between the mountains and the office. With our 

staff of five people, we have a rotating schedule in which one person sits in the driver's 

seat in the office as the forecaster for that day while the others either head into the 

mountains to look at snow, work in the office on various education or computer projects 

or take their scheduled days off. 

Field Day: 

A typical "field day" might begin at 6:00 in the morning when we wake up, listen to our 

trusty NOAA weather radio, get on our home computer and look at the data from all the 

automated weather stations in the mountain. Like everyone else, we call our own 

avalanche advisory to get the latest information. Then we jump in the car or on the bus 

and head for the mountains. 

We usually travel on skis and we use a snowmobile to access more remote areas. We 

usually travel with a partner using all the usual safety equipment like electronic 

avalanche beacons, shovels, probes, belay rope and radios. We seldom have a regular 

patrol area, but we simply go to the area that concerns us the most, or to a place that we 

know is representative, where we can look at snow on a variety of aspects, elevations 

and terrain types. We almost always go into the backcountry--meaning areas outside ski 

area boundaries where no avalanche control is done. We put climbing skins on our skis 

and huff-and-puff to the top of a mountain, take off the skins, ski down into another 

valley, put the skins back on again, go to another ridge, and so on. 

And yes, it can certainly be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. It takes years 

of experience and training to be an accomplished avalanche forecaster, not to mention 

to be able to do it safely. Most of our staff of six has degrees in some kind of physical 

science such as meteorology, geology or engineering, three staff members have 

master’s degrees and two are working towards their PhD. We also have a number of 

years experience doing avalanche control at ski areas, plus, we all are accomplished 

mountaineers with many years of accumulated mountain experience. Finally, we all stay 

in top physical condition so we can efficiently cover lots of terrain. 

We gather information from many different places in many different ways. For instance, 

we dig snow pits on several different slopes to get a good feel for the distribution pattern 
FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 

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of snow stability. A snow pit, like the name implies, is about a 5 foot (1.5 meter) hole in 

the snow we dig and then we do a variety of stress tests to determine the stability of the 

snowpack. We also look at the crystallography of the various layers, and measure 

temperatures and sometimes density. This isn't nearly as complicated or timeconsuming as it seems, as we usually spend no more than 15 minutes in a single snow 

pit. We would rather dig several quick pits in several areas than do one detailed pit in 

one area because once we figure out what kind of avalanche dragon we're dealing with, 

we want to know the distribution of the pattern so we can communicate the pattern to the 

public. 

We also test the snow in other ways, such as sawing off cornices, which bounce down 

the slope, keeping close track of the pattern of recent avalanches and we always pay 

very close attention to the present snow surface because it's much easier to map a layer 

of snow when it's still on the surface then after it's buried by the next storm. Finally, 

when we get home, we leave a detailed message on our answer machine in the office, 

which the forecaster will hear early the next morning. We also fax a written version of 

our observation, including the snow pit profiles, so that the forecaster has less to write 

down the next morning. Finally, we often call the person who will forecast the next day 

and talk to them in more detail, making sure not to call after bedtime, which is 8:00 pm, 

since they have to be up by 3:00 am the next morning. 

Office:

Our office days are brutal. We usually arrive at our office, co-located with the National 

Weather Service near the Salt Lake Airport, around 4:00 am, and earlier on big storm 

days. There's only one avalanche person in the office, so the pressure and time 

constraint is intense. 

First, the lead weather forecaster for the National Weather Service briefs us on the 

general weather setup and then we jump on the weather computers ourselves and type 

up a detailed mountain weather forecast that goes onto the Internet by 6:00 am. Then, 

we check our answer machines and write down all the field observations not only from 

our staff, but from our army of volunteer observers, ski areas, helicopter skiing 

companies and highway control programs. After that, we furiously kick into high gear and 

write backcountry avalanche advisories customized for five different zones in northern 

Utah, record those advisories into six different answer machines, each one customized 

for its area, do three live radio interviews, all while trying to answer the phone from ski 

areas calling to leave observations or talk about avalanche hazard. The recorded 

advisories are on by 7:30 and by 8:15 am, when we're done with the last live radio 

interview, we finally collapse with relief, take that bathroom break we've needed for the 

last couple hours and take a walk outside and watch the sun rise and hope that our 

information is accurate. An average of 800 people call the avalanche recording and 

twice that number get it over the Internet, most of which head into the backcountry to 

test our theories with their lives. 

Then it's lunch time, just when most people are eating their breakfast. After lunch, we 

start answering phones, collecting data, updating clipboards and just catching up. 

Finally, by 10:00 am we start the whole process again to put out an afternoon update, 

which is usually finished by about noon to 1:00 pm. Then our day is done. We head 

home and get some sleep.
ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER 

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Season Highlights 

Avalanche Incidents and Accidents 

In Utah, this season tied the dubious record of six avalanche fatalities, which included 

three snowmobilers, one out-of-bounds skier and two climbers. An astounding 161 

unintentional human triggered accidents in the backcountry were reported (the average 

is around 100) with 71 people caught, 17 people partly buried, 12 buried, 2 injured and 6 

killed. Nationally, it was a similarly grim story with 34 fatalities, which eclipsed the old 

record of 33. 

Weather 

This was yet another dry winter in Utah with even drier conditions for the northern U.S. 

and Canada. Most of northern Utah hovered around the 70 percent of normal while the 

mountains in the Escalante and Zion area stayed significantly above normal—one of the 

few areas in the western U.S. which was above normal. Alta ended the season only 

slightly below normal with 470 inches of snow. Thin snow combined with long dry spells 

creates weak snow and consequently dangerous avalanche conditions. 

Media 

Once again, the Utah Avalanche Center staff was featured on a number of national and 

international television programs including NBC Nightly News, The Discovery Channel, 

The Weather Channel and the Earth and Space Channel. We were featured or quoted 

in a total of 13 national and international television programs, 24 national or international 

print media, 12 local television interviews, 2 radio interviews and 9 local print interviews. 

Avalanche Education 

We continued our strong avalanche education programs with a total of 49 free classes 

for the public, which directly reached nearly 3,000 people. 

Olympic Avalanche Preparations 

We continued to ramp up for the Olympic Games in February of 2002. We added staff 

members, developed web sites, developed computer programs in partnership with the 

Swiss government, worked with public safety officials, developed media packets, 

developed trailhead displays and developed informational brochures. 
FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 

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0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

350000

400000

Calls and Internet Hits

1977197819791980198119821983198419851986198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001

Season

Total Product Access Per Season

Weather Internet Hits

Advisoy Internet hits

Salt Lake Telephone

Moab Telephone

State Snowmobile Hotline

Salt Lake Telephone

Park City Telephone

Provo Telephone

Ogden Telephone

Logan Telephone

Use of UAC products has fallen slightly this season due to yet another warm, dry winter. As Internet access 

of the products increases, call counts decrease. 

November December January February March April

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

Average number of calls to UAFC advisory 1994-2001
ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER 

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Season History – Northern Utah 

November 

The 2000 – 2001 season is a tale of high hopes dashed. The winter began at the 

end of October with great promise. Some of us thought that a big winter was likely, 

which would balance out the hot, dry summer. Unfortunately after two weeks of stormy 

weather, but no really large dumps, the first of a series of dry spells set in. The month 

ended with 77 inches of snow at the Alta Guard Station, containing 5.45 inches of water. 

The total depth stake was reading 30 inches. 

December 

 This 30 inches was just the right amount of snow on the ground for the cold, clear 

nights to produce a nasty layer of faceted crystals that plagued backcountry travelers for 

the remainder of the winter. By mid December the Wasatch snow pack was a loose, 

weak mess. Eight days of snow, beginning on December 10, pushed the Alta stake to 

70 inches and produced a major avalanche cycle. There were two incidents of note 

during this week of storms: One fatality, and a very close call. 

 Three snowmobilers were testing a new sled in Willard Basin, a remote 

backcountry area northeast of Ogden, UT during the evening hours of December 14. 

After six days of gradual accumulation, the weak Wasatch snow pack was on the verge 

of a large natural avalanche cycle. The trio had already triggered several small slides 

when a big one took the lead rider off the road. Without rescue gear, the remaining two 

called for help on a cell phone and began poking around in the snow. When the rescue 

Alta N ovember - April Snow fall

300.0

350.0

400.0

450.0

500.0

550.0

600.0

650.0

700.0

750.0

W inte r

Inches of Snowfall

Average

A
FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 

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team arrived several hours later, they quickly located the deceased victim with a probe 

line. (See www.avalanche.org for details on all these accidents.) 

 The close call, on the afternoon of December 16, involved a couple of teen-age 

extreme sledders of the plastic variety, rather than snowmobiles. There are several 

deep ravines on the south facing side of Little Cottonwood Canyon, directly across the 

road from the Alta Ski Area. Avalanche people call gullies like these “terrain traps”, 

because even small avalanches can bury someone very deeply. While they give many 

of the locals cold shudders, the X-Generation loves playing in these natural half pipes. A 

14 year-old male was in the bottom of the gully waiting to film his partner jumping the 

corniced lip. The partner jumped, the cornice broke, triggering a slab avalanche. The 

photographer was totally buried (sans beacon). Several people in the area began a 

search. The Alta Ski Patrol spotted the activity and began an organized response. But 

before the arrival of the rescue team, backcountry folks with shovels and probes had 

located and uncovered the young man. He was unconscious, but alive, after a burial 

time of about 30 minuets. 

 After this busy week, the Wasatch weather turned dry again. Except for a quick 

Christmas Eve gift of a nice 10 inches of light powder, there was another three weeks of 

high pressure. The month ended with 71 inches of snow, 6.79 inches of water and the 

snow stake at 50 inches. 

January 

 The holiday clear period again developed a thick layer of faceted crystals near 

the snow surface, spelling trouble when the next series of storms arrived. Three small 

storms broke the monotony during the second half of January but they weren’t enough to 

seriously overload the snow pack. A big storm would have triggered many natural slides 

but the small storms just kept the weak layers close to the breaking point, close enough 

that the extra weight of a person could sometimes trigger a slide. This pattern of small 

storms continued in February, which maintained the hair-trigger nature of the snowpack, 

resulting in an unprecedented series of human triggered avalanches. Triggered slides 

were reported almost daily for over two months. Local avalanche worker’s hair turned 

gray and we were very lucky not to have had more accidents than we did. 

 January totals from the Alta guard station were 65 inches of snow, 4.67 water 

and an end of the month snow stake reading of 65 inches. 

February 

 Three small storms and a couple of dustings kept backcountry snow conditions 

fairly good during February but they also continued the nagging avalanche potential. I’m 

sure our audience grew weary of our constant refrain, “There is a moderate danger of 

triggering a deeper release on old faceted layers........”. With almost daily reports of 

human triggered avalanches, the human triggered potential wasn’t quite widespread 

enough to call it high danger but not localized enough to call it a low danger, so we were 

perpetually stuck in the twilight zone of “moderate” and occasionally “considerable.” 

Most avalanche accidents occur during moderate danger because people perceive that 

it’s safe enough, yet there’s just enough booby traps to surprise people. The wonder 

was that no one was killed or seriously injured during this protracted period until 

February 27, when our luck finally ran out. 

 Ironically, it wasn’t an extreme snow rider pushing the edge. Instead the 

avalanche victim was a middle age woman, vacationing from the northeast with her 

family. She had exited The Canyons 9,990 gate and ventured into the backcountry with 

several family members looking for untracked powder. She entered the slope first but 

soon fell, losing a ski. A couple of her companions dropped in to help her, triggering the 
ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER 

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slide, which released on faceted snow near the ground. Three were caught and carried, 

one partly buried and two totally under. One of them was located quickly when he was 

heard shouting under the snow. The deceased woman was found after a couple of 

hours by The Canyons rescue team with a probe line. 

 The Alta Guard station recorded 73 inches of snow, 6.69 inches of water and a 

snow stake reading of 80 inches. 

March 

 March, usually a wet month in the Wasatch was quite dry, with just over half the 

normal monthly snowfall. Despite the dearth of major storms, avalanche activity 

continued at a brisk pace. Avalanches were reported on all but 5 days of the month, 

with human trigged slides occurring on 16 of those days. 

 On March 10 a pair of snowmobilers were caught and killed in the Uinta 

Mountains. A small storm had dusted northern Utah, including the Uintas, with 4 to 6 

inches of new snow. The Uinta Mountains have a snow climate more like Colorado than 

the Wasatch Range. Thick layers of faceted snow are quite common and the range is 

receiving increasing use from snowmobilers. The accident followed a common pattern. 

A high-marking sledder became stuck and his two friends went up to help him. The 

weight of the three people and machines released a large hard slab avalanche running 

on faceted snow near the ground. One of the three was only partly buried and the sleds 

were on the surface. The search for the missing two men focused on the vicinity of the 

sleds. Eventually the search widened and both men were found via surface clues but 

resuscitation efforts proved futile. 

 A similar but happier incident occurred on March 24 in central Utah’s Wasatch 

Plateau. A snowmobiler was totally buried by a large slide for an hour while bystanders 

searched for him. Finally someone thought they heard a voice coming from under the 

partly buried snowmobile. The sled was moved and there they found a very lucky man. 

 The largest storm of the month arrived on March 28 dropping 15 inches of new 

snow and serving notice of a change in the weather. Totals for the month were 50 

inches of snow, with 4.89 water. The snow stake read 63 inches. 

April 

 April is often a month of contrast and 2001 was no exception. This April was 

both the snowiest month of the winter but also the warmest. The first two weeks of the 

month produced the deepest total snow depth (96” on 4/8) and arguably the best turning 

conditions of the winter. About 5 feet of new snow fell during this period, with a major 

avalanche cycle on April 7 and 8. Another storm over the weekend of the 20th and 21st

dropped an additional 2 feet of fresh snow. 

 A warming trend began after this last storm. The Alta Guard Station recorded an 

overnight low of 31 degrees on the morning of April 25. This was the final freeze of the 

month. 

By dawn on April 28 the overnight low had climbed to 45 degrees and the skies 

were mostly cloudy. Sometime during the early morning hours a massive glide 

avalanche released in Stairs Gulch off Big Cottonwood Canyon catching two snow 

climbers heading up Twin Peaks. Reported overdue by their families, their bodies were 

recovered late that evening. 

 April totals were 117 inches of snow with 11.7 inches of water. On the last day of 

the month the snow stake had dropped to 50 inches. 
FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 

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Season History – La Sal Mountains – by Faerthen Felix 

September 

The traditional Labor Day storm rolls in, but clouds conceal the mountains long enough 

for any evidence of snowfall to disappear. 

October 

Summer comes to an abrupt halt and mountain bikers get drenched and muddy on the 

White Rim as terrifically wet storms begin on the 19th. This cycle continues through the 

month, with only brief periods of clearing between waves. 

November 

Mild temperatures and a warm ground eventually melt all but snow banks on the 

deepest, darkest north aspects. Before the autumn sun can remove these worrisome 

patches, the storms resume. Deep snow accumulations of up to 4’ pile up in on the high 

peaks. A few natural avalanches release in new snow layers on very steep slopes and 

motivated locals hurry out for the earliest turns in years. A clear spell of high-pressure 

moves in, wrecking our hopes for a deep, stable snowpack as cold temperatures and 

clear skies spin our fluff into sugar and hiker’s feet begin to punch through to the ground. 

Our fondest hope is for a huge snowfall to either tear out this widespread weakness, or 

bridge over the facets. Neither would arrive this season. 

Glen Casamassa and the Manti-La Sal Forest continue their amazing support of our 

avalanche program. Intern Evan Stevens arrives on the 17th to assist the center with 

fieldwork and GIS projects for the season. Faerthen Felix is hired to fill the new 

permanent Lead Forecaster-Program Director position on the 20th. The money and 

support is in place to hire a Forest Service Assistant Forecaster-Southern Utah 

Snowmobile Educator, but the paperwork drags along due to personnel staffing 

shortages. 

December

The clear spell is broken as winter returns to the La Sals. 1⁄2” of snow falls at the Geyser 

Pass Trail Head on the 7th, followed by 2” on the 8th, 2” on the 9th, and 2” again on the 

10th. Eager locals begin making turns on protected shady slopes, despite poorly covered 

deadfall and a somewhat hollow base. Turns can also be had on westerly aspects where 

stiff, generally supportable sun crusts lie beneath the new fluff. 

Rather moderate winds allow the new snow to hang in place on its delicate, sugary 

foundation, or slough gently down onto slightly lower angle slopes below. 3” and strong 

SW winds on the 12th finally topple the house of cards and the hazard rises to High. 

Natural avalanches release on a few easterly aspects on open slopes and gullies near 

treeline where the earlier snow sluffing piled up. Unlike many regional mountain ranges, 

the new snow never gets deep and heavy enough to warrant an avalanche warning, 

despite the widespread shaky snowpack foundation. 

The winds build as 1” falls on the 14th and another 1” on the 15th. With widespread weak 

facets on the ground, egg shelling and sluffing occurs on almost all aspects during the 

storm and a couple of large pillows release on NNE aspects below rock bands that 
ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER 

16

provide some protection and allow wind-driven snow to accumulate. The soft new snow 

begins to slab and span the weakness below, setting up a creepy scenario where the 

most supportable areas are also the most dangerous. 

The 24th drops 2” at the GPTH, with another 5” on the 25th. Strong winds accompany the 

snowfall, but unusually, they blow from the NE during the storm, building slabs in 

unexpected places. Danger gradually dissipates as the year ends. 

January 

Large facets on the ground continue to grow and expand through the snowpack as clear 

skies start the month. Backcountry travelers begin to punch through to the ground 

beneath a shallow snow cover of only 16” at the GPTH. 

An inch of snow falls on the 9th, and then 20” of new snow accumulate from the 12th

through the 17th. 

Winter returns on the 25th with storminess that lasts through the end of the month. When 

it’s all over, the season’s biggest storm has dropped a total of 30” of snow on our fragile 

snowpack over a 7-day period. In a rather surreal twist, the new snow accumulates in 

absolutely breathless air. Natural avalanching is unexpectedly limited, although at least 

one large natural slide pulls out on the old rotten snow layers in Bachelor Basin. 

With little avalanche activity this season, the complexity of our layered snowpack 

continues to grow. Faceting under sun crusts eats away at stability on sunny aspects, 

and the weak layers on shady aspects aren’t going anywhere soon. Avalanche hazard 

remains spotty, but widespread and insidious. The weak slab of new snow on top of the 

house of cards doesn’t seem strong enough to propagate significant failures, but 

continuing avalanche incidents in a region plagued by unusual (but typical La Sal) 

conditions says otherwise. 

Extensive collapsing and cracking dog backcountry tours. Out of habit, most 

recreationists slog around on familiar, shady slopes but the faceted layers underneath 

are punchy and unsupportable above a minefield of snags, stumps and rocks. 

Meanwhile, stunning powder skiing conditions atop supportable old crusts reward the 

more imaginative with world-class turning conditions on S and W aspects. 

February 

Another 1” falls on the 1st to end the storm cycle. The sun angle slowly rises and days 

lengthen. Warm temperatures and strong sun arrive at the end of the month’s first week, 

along with strong winds that peak at 95 mph. This one-two punch of heat and wind 

absolutely wrecks the snow surface, sending everyone back to the roads above the 

parking areas for winter recreation. 

Snow begins to trickle in again freshening up the skiing conditions but also adding 

weight to our precarious snowpack. The mountains pick up 6”-10” between the 15th and 

17th and powder skiing is excellent. The strong sun comes out and wrecks the skiing for 

a day but by the 19th, a moist, southwesterly flow returns and the snow again begins to 

fall. 9” fall overnight on the 24th, and we are prompted to post a High hazard rating. Field 

work on the 25th and 26th reveals numerous natural avalanches that came down during 

the storm. Most are on NE aspects and many are into old snow. 
FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 

17

We stay entrenched in a moist, southwesterly flow and the mountains pick up another 

foot of snow by the 28th bringing totals since the 23rd to up around 2 feet. We are again 

prompted to issue a High avalanche hazard, and by March 1, several more, large natural 

avalanches occurred. This time things wrap around into the N and NW aspects. The 

“Exxon’s Folly” slide path produced the most notable avalanche breaking to the ground, 

500’-600’ wide, and running for about 1000’. 

March 

Light snow continues to add up through the first couple weeks of the month. 10”-14” of 

windless snow falls on the weekend of the 9th –11th. Avalanche activity consists of loose 

snow sluffing on steep, high elevation, NE, N, and NW aspects. On Wednesday, the 

14th, a wind event of epic proportions descends upon on us from the NW. For about a 6-

hour period, winds average 50 mph from the WNW with gusting up to 90 mph. Snow 

transport is intense, and mountain peaks take on the appearance of volcanoes spewing 

giant plumes of ash. This rapid transport piles 6”-12” of snow an hour on to leeward 

slopes. The result is a natural, deep slab avalanche cycle on upper mid elevation slopes 

with N-NW aspects. 

The rest of the month is rather anticlimactic as an unsettled weather pattern on a NW 

flow keeps the mountains under mostly cloudy skies with little to no new snow 

accumulations. Warm temperatures with periods of sun late in the month allow melt 

freeze crusts of varying strength and thickness to develop on most aspects. For the 

intrepid, embryonic corn conditions develop on select SE, S, and SW aspects. Light 

snow returns to finish off the month, and fine dust on crust conditions are found on 

slopes with a smooth, supportable crust underneath. 

April 

Budgetary constraints necessitate a halt to the posting of regular avalanche advisories 

though winter again returns to the mountains. On Friday, April 6th, 8” of snow falls in the 

mountains with another 4”-6” by Saturday. Local enthusiasts report excellent powder 

skiing. Moderate to strong SW winds accompany this storm causing some concern here 

at the Center. The moist, SW flow continues to bring stormy weather to our area, and the 

mountains pick up a few inches of new snow on a near daily basis through the week of 

April 8th-14th. 

Utah Avalanche Incidents and Accidents 

This season saw an astounding 161 avalanche incidents reported to the UAC, 

which is significantly above the average of around 100. Also this season, six avalanche 

fatalities ties the record for the most in a season. Nationally, it was a similar story. As of 

this writing, 34 people died in avalanches, which breaks the old U.S. record of 33. 

The season was almost made to order for avalanche danger. First, we had a thin 

snowpack in the early season, which rotted out from temperature gradient 

metamorphism to become very weak, sugary faceted snow that stays persistently weak 

and brittle throughout the season. With this kind of persistent weak layer as the 

foundation, every avalanche person hopes for a huge storm, which will make everything 

slide at once and wash all out troubles away. Then there is a chance to start over 

building a solid foundation instead of a weak one. But that was not to be the case. The 
ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER 

18

storms teased us along all season, just adding enough weight to bring the snowpack up 

to the edge but seldom pushing it into a major avalanche cycle. This meant that people 

spent the season trying to tiptoe around booby traps and often were not successful at it. 

With 161 unintentional human triggered avalanches in the backcountry, it’s amazing that 

there were only 6 deaths. As usual, there were a number of very close calls with 71 

people caught, 17 partially buried, 12 totally buried and 2 injured. 

Here are short synopses of the incidents and accidents. See www.avalanche.org for the 

complete reports of these accidents. 

Willard Basin Snowmobiler Fatality 

On December 14th, three snowmobilers were getting out for some early season riding 

and testing a new sled in Willard Basin, a remote backcountry area northeast of Ogden, 

UT. After six days of gradual accumulation, the weak Wasatch snow pack was on the 

verge of a large natural avalanche cycle. The trio had already triggered several small 

slides when a big one took the lead rider off the road. Without rescue gear, the 

remaining two called for help on a cell phone and began searching for their missing 

companion. When the rescue team arrived several hours later, they quickly located the 

deceased victim with a probe line. 

Sledders at Alta – A Very Close Call 

 On the afternoon of December 16, a couple of teen-age extreme sledders (of the 

plastic variety, not snowmobiles) were playing on the sides of the steep gullies above the 

town of Alta. Avalanche people call gullies like these “terrain traps”, because even small 

avalanches can bury someone very deeply. While they give many of the locals avoid 

them, the X-Generation loves playing in these natural half pipes. A 14 year-old male 

was in the bottom of the gully waiting to film his partner jumping the corniced lip. The 

partner jumped, the cornice broke, triggering a slab avalanche. The photographer was 

totally buried (sans beacon). Several people in the area began a search. The Alta Ski 

Patrol spotted the activity and began an organized response. But before the arrival of 

the rescue team, backcountry folks with shovels and probes had located and uncovered 

the young man. He was unconscious, but alive, after a burial time of about 30 minuets. 

Out of Bounds Skier Killed near The Canyons Resort 

The next avalanche fatality occurred on February 27th, involving a middle age woman 

vacationing from the northeast with her family. She had exited The Canyons 9,990 gate 

and ventured into the backcountry with several family members looking for untracked 

powder. She entered the slope first but soon fell, losing a ski. A couple of her 

companions dropped in to help her, triggering the slide, which released on faceted snow 

near the ground. Three were caught and carried, one partly buried and two were totally 

buried. One of the survivors heard shouting from under the snow and quickly located 

one man. The deceased woman was found after a couple of hours by The Canyons 

rescue team with a probe line. 

Two Snowmobilers Killed in the Uinta Mountains 

On March 10 a pair of snowmobilers were caught and killed in the Uinta Mountains. A 

small storm had dusted northern Utah, including the Uintas, with 4 to 6 inches of new 

snow. The Uinta Mountains have a snow climate more like Colorado than the Wasatch 

Range. Thick layers of faceted snow are quite common and the range is receiving 

increasing use from snowmobilers. The accident followed a common pattern. A highmarking snowmobiler became stuck and his two friends went up to help him. The weight 

of the three people and machines released a large hard slab avalanche running on 
FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 

19

faceted snow near the ground. One of the three was only partly buried and the sleds 

were on the surface. The search for the missing two men focused on the vicinity of the 

sleds. Eventually the search widened and both men were found via surface clues but 

resuscitation efforts proved futile. 

Snowmobiler Close Call on the Wasatch Plateau 

 A similar but happier incident occurred on March 24 in central Utah’s Wasatch 

Plateau. A snowmobiler was totally buried by a large slide for an hour while bystanders 

searched for him. Finally someone thought they heard a voice coming from under the 

partly buried snowmobile. They moved the sled and there they found a very lucky man. 

Two Climbers Killed by a Glide Avalanche in Stairs Gulch 

 During very warm, springtime conditions, a local doctor and his friend from 

Alaska (also a doctor) left at 4:00 am on April 28th to climb Stairs Gulch with crampons, 

ice axes and a rope, but no beacons. Stairs Gulch is a very steep and very large 

avalanche path (5,000 vertical feet) near the bottom of Big Cottonwood Canyon. Few 

people venture into Stairs Gulch during the winter but sometimes climbers like to test 

their snow skills there in spring. As the pair ascended in the early morning darkness a 

large glide avalanche released high above them and descended into the narrow gully 

they were ascending. When they failed to show up by their scheduled noon return time, 

searchers found the boot of one victim sticking out of the snow and a search dog located 

the second victim about four hundred yards above the first victim and he was buried 

about 8 feet deep. 

 This is the first known fatality from a glide avalanche in Utah and perhaps the 

only one in the U.S. Glide avalanches occur when wet snow slides slowly on the 

ground, similar to a glacier, often for several days, until they randomly release. 

 
ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER 

20

Utah Deaths by Natural Hazard

1951 - 2001

Lightning

36%

Flash Floods

18%

Avalanches

46%

Avalanche Fatalities in Utah 1951-2001

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

195119521953195419551956195719581959196019611962196319641965196619671968196919701971197219731974197519761977197819791980198119821983198419851986198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001

Winter

Number of Fatalities

5-Year Moving Average
FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 

21

Date Location Details Triggered Caught

Partially 

Buried

Totally 

Buried Injured Killed

10/31/20

0 Alta Baldy, Armpit human triggered 1 1 1

10/31/00 Alta, W est Russler slide triggered by ski cut 1

11/14/01 Deseret Peak triggered by hikers 1 2

11/16/00 Murdock Peak skier triggered 1 2

11/17/01 Gobblers Knob human triggered 3

11/29/00 Snowbird area skier caught and carried 1 1 1

12/1/01 Cardiac Ridge human triggered 1

12/12/00 Meadow Chutes remotely triggered 1

12/12/01 Big W ater skier triggered 1

12/14/00 Pink Pine Ridge human triggered 1

12/14/01 W illard Peak snowmobiler caught and killed 1 1 1 1

12/14/00 Park City Mine Dump remotely triggered 1

12/15/01 Solitude ski cut mid slope after explosive control 1 1

12/16/00 Reynold's East Face remotely triggered by skier 1 1

12/16/01 Flagstaff Gully triggered by sledders and boarders 1 2 1 1

12/16/00 Park City, Conehead snowboarder triggered 2

12/16/01 W est Monitor remotely triggered 1

12/16/00 !0,420 Peak human triggered 1

12/17/01 Daniel's Summit remotely triggered 1

12/18/00 W est W illow Ridge human triggered 1

12/19/01 Uintas, Coop Creek snowmobiler triggered 1 2 1

12/21/00 Park City W hite Pine snowmobiler triggered 1

12/25/01 Raymond Peak skier triggered 1

12/26/00 Little Pine human triggered 3

1/13/01 Squaretop skier triggered, 2 sympathetic 3 1

1/14/01 Days Fork skier triggered 1

1/15/01 Squaretop skier triggered 1

1/15/01 Main Days skier triggered, mid-path 1 1

1/16/01 Desolation Lake human triggered 1

1/16/01 Kessler Peak triggered by two skiers on slope 1

1/18/01 James Peak human triggered 1 1

1/19/01

Park City Ridge, near 

9,990 Peak human triggered 1

1/20/01 W ilson Fork skier triggered 1

1/20/01 Brighton backcountry skier triggered 1

1/20/01 Mt. Tuscarora snowboarder triggered 1 1

1/20/01 Reynold's NE Face Several pockets, one sympathetic 3

1/20/01 Red Rock Cliffs human triggered 2 3

1/20/01 Corn Bowl skier triggered 1 1

1/20/01 Logan, Bobcat Bowl skier triggered 1 1

1/20/01 Squaretop skier triggered 3 1 1

1/21/01 Trailer Ct. Canyon snowboarder triggered 1

1/23/01 X-Chute, Tuscarora human triggered 1

1/24/01 Squaretop skier triggered 2

1/26/01 Snowbird area cornice fall triggered slide, caught skiers 1 3 2 1

1/27/01 Days Fork skier triggered 1

1/27/01 Reynolds' Peak skier triggered 1 2 1 1

Incidents and Accidents 2000-01
ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER 

22

1/27/01 Gobblers Knob skier triggered 1

1/28/01 Uintas skier triggered, after ski cuts w/no results 1 1

1/28/01 East Bowl Silver Fork human triggered 1

1/29/01 Big Springs skier triggered 1 1

2/2/01 W hite Pine remotely triggered 1

2/2/01 Argenta remotely triggered from below 1

2/3/01 Ben Lomond Peak human triggered 1

2/3/01 Logan Mountains human triggered 1 1 1

2/10/01 Deer Valley area snowmobiler triggered 1

2/12/01 Deer Valley area human triggered 1 1

2/12/01 Uintas skier triggered 1

2/13/01 Solitude area skier triggered 1

2/13/01 W est Monitor human triggered 2

2/13/01 Days Fork remotely triggered cornice fall 1

2/13/01 Scott's Peak snowboarder triggered 1

2/13/01 Little W ater Peak skier triggered 1

2/14/01 Snowboarder Alley skier triggered 1

2/14/01 Logan Mountains snowmobiler triggered 1 1 1

2/14/01 Clayton Peak snowboarder triggered 1

2/15/01 Squaretop human triggered 1

2/15/01 Twin Lakes Pass human triggered 1

2/15/01 Scott's Peak human triggered 1

2/15/01 Thousand Peaks human triggered 1 3 1

2/15/01 Desolation Lake human triggered 1

2/16/01 Birthday Chutes human triggered 1

2/16/01 No Name Bowl skier triggered 1 1

2/17/01 Dry Fork snowmobiler triggered 2

2/17/01 Squaretop snowboarders building jumps 2

2/19/01 Pioneer Ridge snowboarder triggered 1 2

2/19/01 Days Fork human triggered 2

2/19/01 Silver Fork human triggered 2

2/20/01 Mt. Millicent skier triggered after control work 1 1

2/21/01 Ant Knolls skier triggered 2 1

2/22/01 Snake Creek snowboarder triggered 1

2/23/01 Snake Creek remotely triggered by skier 2

2/23/01 Brighton backcountry skier triggered 2

2/23/01 Holy Toledo skier triggered 1

2/23/01 Snake Creek skier triggered 1

2/24/01 Summit Parl snowshoer triggered 1 4 2

2/24/01 Cinder Chutes snowboarder triggered 1

2/25/01 W est Monitor snowboarder triggered 2 1

2/25/01 South Monitor triggered by small cornice drop 1

2/25/01 Banana Days skier triggered 2

2/26/01 Chablis Bowl skier triggered 1

2/27/01 Red Rock Cliffs skier triggered 1 4 3 1 1

2/28/01 Logan Peak snowmobiler triggered 1 1 1

3/1/01 Cascade Ridge skier triggered 1 1

3/1/01 Fairview Canyon snowboarder triggered 1 1

3/2/01 North Ogden Pass skier triggered 1

3/3/01 W asatch Plateau snowmobiler triggered 2

3/4/01 Cardiff Fork skier triggered 2

3/10/01 Chalk Creek snowmobiler triggered 1 3 1 2 2

3/12/01 Murdock Peak triggered by cornice drop 1
FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 

23

3/12/01 Mineral Basin skier triggered 2

3/12/01 Easter Bowl skier triggered 1

3/12/01 Cardiac Ridge skier triggered 1 2

3/13/01 South Monitor skier triggered 1

3/13/01 Mary Ellen skier triggered 1

3/13/01 Tuscarora human triggered 3

3/15/01 Uintas skier triggered 1 1

3/15/01 Current Creek snowmobiler triggered 1

3/17/01 Monitor Bowls cornice drops 2

3/17/01 Taylor Canyon human triggered 1

3/18/01 Sunset Peak human triggered 1

3/18/01 Ogden Mountains skier triggered 1 1 1

3/20/01 Y Couloir skiers caught in wet slide 1 2 1

3/23/01 Tony Grove snowmobiler triggered 1 1

3/24/01 Sunset Peak human triggered 1

3/24/01 Seeley Canyon snowmobilers 1 2 1

3/25/01 Snake Creek snowmobiler triggered 1

3/25/01 Caribou Basin snowmobiler triggered 1

3/28/01 Primrose Cirque skier triggered 1 1

3/28/01 Veil Ridge, Alta skier triggered 1 1 1

4/3/01 Emma Ridge remotely triggered by skier 2

4/4/01 Patsy Marley skier triggered 1

4/5/01 Cardiff Pass skier triggered 1 1

4/8/01 No Name Bowl human triggered 1 1

4/7/01

Snowbasin 

Backcountry human triggered 2

4/10/01 Alexander Basin remotely triggered by cornice drop 1

4/12/01 Big Springs skier triggered 2

4/17/01 Miller Flats skier triggered 1

4/21/01 Mineral Fork remotely triggered by skier 2

4/28/01 Stairs Gulch Two climbers killed 2 2 2

Total 161 71 17 12 2 6
ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER 

24

Date Deaths Sex Location Activity Skier Climber

Snow

boarder

Snow

mobiler

Other 

Recreation 

(snowshoe, 

hiker, 

hunter) Worker Resident

09-Mar-58 2 Males Snowbasin Rescuer 2

29-Mar-64 1 Male Snowbasin Worker 1

31-Dec-65 1 Male Park City In-bounds skier 1

12-Feb-67 2 Males Pharoah’s Glen Climbers 2

19-Feb-68 1 Male Rock Canyon Hiker 1

29-Jan-70 1 Male Alta In-bounds skier 1

29-Jan-73 1 Male Park West In-bounds skier 1

06-Jan-76 1 Male Alta Out of bounds skier 1

03-Mar-77 1 Male Snowbird In-bounds skier 1

19-Jan-79 1 Male Helper Worker 1

02-Apr-79 1 Male Lake Desolation Backcountry skier 1

11-Jan-80 1 Male Evergreen Ridge Out of bounds skier 1

01-Feb-81 1 Male Cardiff Hiker 1

01-Mar-81 1 Male Millcreek Backcountry skier 1

22-Mar-82 1 Male near Park West Backcountry skier 1

02-Jan-84 1 Male Superior Peak Backcountry skier 1

22-Feb-85 1 Male Near Powder Mountain Backcountry skier 1

19-Mar-85 1 Female Park City In-bounds wet slide 1

13-Nov-85 2 Males Sunset Peak Backcountry skiers 2

06-Jan-86 1 Male Provo Canyon Backcountry skier 1

17-Feb-86 1 Male Big Cottonwood Canyon Backcountry snowboarder 1

19-Feb-86 1 Male Alta In bounds skier 1

20-Nov-86 1 Male Sugarloaf, Alta Hiker in unopened area 1

15-Feb-87 1 Male Twin Lakes Reservoir Backcountry skier 1

25-Nov-89 1 Male Tony Grove Lake, Logan Backcountry skier 1

12-Feb-92 4 3-M/1-F Gold Basin, La Sal Mtns Backcountry vskiers 4

01-Apr-92 1 Male Mineral Basin, near Snowbird Backcountry skier 1

16-Jan-93 1 Male Sundance (closed area) Backcountry skier 1

25-Feb-93 1 Male Pinecrest, Emig. Cyn. Backcountry skier 1

03-Apr-93 1 Male Wolverine Cirque Backcountry skier 1

18-Feb-94 1 Male 10,420 Peak, B.C.C. Backcountry skier 1

07-Nov-94 1 Male Snowbird (pre-season) Backcountry skier 1

14-Jan-95 2 Males Ben Lomond, near Ogden Snowmobilers 2

23-Jan-95 1 Male Midway Resident killed in roof slide 1

12-Feb-95 1 Male Gobbler’s Knob, B.C.C. Backcountry skier 1

02-Feb-96 1 Male Solitude patroller Worker 1

27-Mar-96 1 Male Maybird Gulch, L.C.C. Backcountry skier 1

07-Dec-96 1 Male Bountiful Peak Snowmobiler 1

26-Dec-96 1 Male Flagstaff Peak Backcountry snowboarder 1

11-Jan-97 3 Males Logan Peak Three campers 3

25-Jan-97 1 Male Provo Canyon Climber 1

17-Jan-98 1 Male Near Coleville Snowmobiler 1

18-Jan-98 1 Male Sanpete County Snowmobiler 1

26-Feb-98 1 Male Near Weber State hiker (possible suicide) 1

07-Nov-98 1 Male Snowbird (pre-season) Snowboarder 1

02-Jan-99 2 Males Wasatch Plateau Snowboarders 2

29-Jan-99 1 Male Mt. Nebo Snowmobiler 1

06-Feb-99 1 Male Little Willow Canyon Hiker 1

11-Jan-00 2 M/F Squaretop Out of bounds skiers 2

14-Dec-01 1 Male Willard Basin Snowmobiler 1

27-Feb-01 1 Female Near Canyons Resort Out of bounds skier 1

10-Mar-01 2 Males Uinta Mtns near Oakly Snowmobiler 2

28-Apr-01 2 Males Stairs Gulch, BCC Climbers 2

Total 66 1958 season - Present 33 5 5 9 8 5 1

Past 10 seasons 15 3 4 9 5 1 1

Shaded areas indicate greatest concentration of fatalities. Past 5 seasons 4 3 4 7 5 1 0

 62 Males, 4 Females

Avalanche Fatalities in Utah 1958-2001 - By Activity
FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 

25

Season (year 

ending) Triggered Caught

Partly 

Buried

Totally 

Buried Killed

1951 0

1952 0

1953 0

1954 0

1955 0

1956 0

1957 0

1958 2

1959 0

1960 0

1961 0

1962 0

1963 0

1964 1

1965 0

1966 1

1967 2

1968 1

1969 0

1970 1

1971 0

1972 0

1973 1

1974 0

1975 0

1976 1

1977 1

1978 0

1979 2

1980 1

1981 2

1982 1

1983 0

1984 1

1985 79 39 15 6 3

1986 66 27 12 5 5

1987 50 18 6 3 2

1988 39 6 1 1 0

1989 64 9 1 0 0

1990 65 34 14 2 0

1991 46 19 7 1 0

1992 76 27 14 9 5

1993 65 29 9 5 3

1994 74 42 5 3 1

1995 79 31 7 9 5

1996 51 15 3 2 2

1997 84 62 37 9 6

1998 96 57 17 8 3

1999 68 48 19 7 5

2000 42 22 8 9 2

2001 161 71 17 12 6

Total 1951-present 1205 556 192 91 66

Total 1985-present 1205 556 192 91 48

Average of past 15 seasons 2.8

Average of past 10 seasons 3.5

Average of past 5 seasons 4.0

Avalanche Incidents in Utah 1951-Present
ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER 

26

U.S. Avalanche Fatalities 1950-2001

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

195119521953195419551956195719581959196019611962196319641965196619671968196919701971197219731974197519761977197819791980198119821983198419851986198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001

Winter

Number of Fatalities

5-Year Moving Average 

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

Number of Incidents

Triggered Caught Partly Buried Totally Buried Killed

Avalanche Incidents in Utah 1985-2001
FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 

27

U.S. Avalanche Fatalities by Activity

1995-2001

194 Total Fatalities

Skiers

22%

Climbers

15%

Snowboarders

13%

Misc Recreation

11%

Others at work

2%

Residents

2%

Patrollers

1% Motorists/Highway 

workers

1%

Snowmobilers

33%

U.S. Avalanche Fatalities by State 1991-2001

(N = 234)

CO

24%

AK

20% UT

14%

MT

13%

W A

7%

ID

5%

W Y

8%

CA

4%

NH

2%

OR

2%

NY

1%
ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER 

28

Snowmobiler fatalities have risen alarmingly in the past eight seasons. 

U.S. Snow mobile Avalanche Fatalities by Year 

1968-2001

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

1968196919701971197219731974197519761977197819791980198119821983198419851986198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001

Winter

Number of Fatalities

5-Year Moving Average 

U.S. Avalanche Fatalities by Decade

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

50's 60's 70's 80's 90's

Decade

Percentage of Total

Backcountry Skiers

In Bounds Skiers

Climbers

Snowboarders

Snowmobilers
FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 

29

 

Avalanche Education 

In the decade of the ‘90’s, snowmobilers and snowboarder fatalities have risen 

while others have decreased. 

World avalanche fatalities have remained relatively constant in recent years 

while U.S. fatalities have risen alarmingly. 

Avalanche Fatalities by Country - 1990-2000

(N=1348)

France

21%

Austria

18%

U.S.A.

17%

Switzerland

16%

Italy

12%

Canada

9%

Germany

2%

Spain

3% Norway

2%

World Avalanche Fatalities 1976-2000

125

153

185

148

133

153

138 149

174

224

204

123

150

78

100

192

99

146

110

140

170

146 138

209

145

0

50

100

150

200

250

1976

1977

197819791980

1981

1982

1983

1984

19851986

1987

19881989

1990

19911992

1993

199419951996

1997

19981999

2000

Winter

Number of Fatalities
ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER 

30

With an ever-increasing number of people recreating and having accidents in Utah’s mountains each 

winter, avalanche education has become increasingly important. We offer free avalanche awareness 

classes to the public—many with standing room only--and encourage them to take more detailed 

courses offered through the private sector. With this multi pronged approach, we believe that more 

people will return home safely after a day of snowmobiling, skiing or snowboarding in the Utah 

backcountry. 

Our staff includes 11 people distributed between the Logan, Salt Lake City, and Moab offices, two of 

who are able to focus on avalanche education tailored for snowmobile groups. We provide education 

to a wide variety of other groups as well, including skiers, snowmobilers, alpine climbers, 

snowboarders, snowshoers, scout troops, search and rescue groups, ski patrollers, and university 

students. Our staff also provides lectures and field guidance at a number of 3-day avalanche 

workshops offered by the private sector, which provide more in-depth information and demonstration of 

important skills like stability evaluation and route finding. We taught, or participated in a total of 49 

avalanche classes during the 2000-01 season and directly reached 2926 people. 

For the second year in a row, Eric Trenbeath and Craig Gordon concentrated on education for 

snowmobilers, bringing badly needed avalanche knowledge and technology into the snowmobile 

community. Each year the number of snowmobilers heading into the backcountry increases 

significantly, and they need critical avalanche skills to recreate safely. The recent advances in 

snowmobile power, combined with weight reduction and traction systems, allow snowmobilers to easily 

access very dangerous avalanche terrain. In addition, snowmobiles can cover nearly 100 times the 

amount of terrain that a skier can travel in a single day. Snowmobilers account for about half of the 

avalanche related deaths that occur in the U.S. each year. This winter season, 3 of the 6 avalanche 

fatalities in Utah involved snowmobilers. We feel that providing avalanche advisories and classes 

designed specifically for snowmobilers will help to raise much-needed awareness and promote safety 

in the snowmobile community. 

Another step forward in avalanche education came in the form of scholarships for snowboarders to 

attend avalanche workshops. Generous donations of $500.00 each from Voile Equipment and 

Milosport went to the Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center. This money was put into ten $100.00 

scholarships for snowboarders who wanted to attend the 3-day avalanche workshop organized by the 

Friends’ organization. These local businesses help to bring knowledge into the snowboarder 

community not only by their generous donations to the scholarship fund, but also by promoting 

awareness of avalanche hazard. 

This season our staff continued efforts to reach out to younger members of the local communities. We 

taught free avalanche awareness seminars to local scout groups, middle schools, and high schools. 

Education helps people to make better decisions when recreating in hazardous terrain, and we figure 

it’s never too early to start learning about avalanches and developing good, safe habits. 

We also worked with ski patrollers and local search and rescue groups, in order to refresh the skills and 

transfer new technology and knowledge to those groups.
FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 

31

Date Staff Event No. people

10/2/00 Tremper International Snow Science Workshop 500

10/28/00 Staff Sundance Ski Patrol Refresher 22

11/30/00 Brown Snowboard Retailers, Brighton 80

12/6/00 Ciliberti Meteorology Dept., University of Utah 30

12/6/00 Tremper Wasatch Mountain Club 90

12/6/00 Staff REI 100

12/12/00 Kimbrough AAI Level II Avalanche Class 50

12/12/00 Staff REI 150

12/14/00 Tremper/Lees Black Diamond, SLC 57

1/1/01 Staff Sno-Zone Snowmobile Club 21

1/9/01 Ciliberti/Greene Snow Hydro Class, Univ. of Utah 30

1/10/01 Tremper Patagonia Store 80

1/11/01 Staff Coalville High School 23

1/13/01 Staff Timp. Ridge Runners Snowmobile Club 26

1/13/01 Staff FUAFC Avalanche Workshop 35

1/14/01 Staff FUAFC Avalanche Workshop 35

1/14/01 Staff Utah Valley State College 61

1/15/01 Staff FUAFC Avalanche Workshop 35

1/16/01 Kimbrough Forest Service/Ntnl Park Service 18

1/18/01 Tremper Forest Service 15

1/19/01 Johnson Avalanche Awareness, Banff Film Festival 650

1/21/01 Staff Salt Lake Snowmobile Club 47

1/22/01 Staff Kamas Middle School 35

1/23/01 Staff Timp. Ridge Runners Snowmobile Club 44

1/23/01 Tremper Science of Avalanches Talk 100

1/25/01 Tremper Red Butte Gardens 60

1/26/01 Staff Carbon County SAR 26

1/27/01 Staff Carbon County SAR 18

1/27/01 Staff Snow Buddies Snowmobile Club 18

1/30/01 Tremper Outdoor Retailers Show 5

2/2/01 Staff Moab Avalanche Awareness 12

2/3/01 Staff Moab Avalanche Awareness 12

2/3/01 Tremper National Ski Patrol Instructors 80

2/16/01 Johnson/Gordon Caribou County SAR 14

2/17/01 Johnson/Gordon Caribou County SAR 11

2/17/01 Staff FUAFC Avalanche Workshop 30

2/18/01 Staff FUAFC Avalanche Workshop 30

2/19/01 Staff FUAFC Avalanche Workshop 30

2/24/01 Staff Utah Snowmobile Association 60

2/27/01 Ciliberti SLC Girl Scouts 15

3/2/01 Staff Dinahland Snowriders 18

3/3/01 Staff SnoScoop Editor Field Day 1

3/3/01 Staff Dinahland Snowriders 8

3/9/01 Staff Sanpete County SAR 10

3/9/01 Tremper Snowsports Industry of America 10

3/10/01 Staff Sanpete County SAR 8

3/10/01 Tremper Snowsports Industry of America 20

Logan/Johnson Avalanche Awareness 18

Logan/Johnson Avalanche Awareness 18

Logan Avalanche Workshop 60

Total 2926

49 Classes

UAC Avalanche Education 2000-01
ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER 

32

Media 

With the 2002 Olympics on our doorstep, the Utah Avalanche Center once again attracted significant 

attention from both local and national media. Bruce Tremper flew to Washington D.C. for a live halfhour interview on Discovery Channel about the science of avalanches. NBC Nightly News, the 

Weather Channel and Earth and Space Channel in the U.K also interviewed him this season. Ethan 

Greene was filmed by the Discovery Channel for a documentary about current avalanche research in 

the scientific community. Carol Ciliberti interviewed with reporters about her involvement in the 

rescue of a snowshoer who was totally buried in an avalanche for 1.5 hours. This rescue event took 

place in February 1997, and has attracted attention from local and national media every year since 

then. Jeff Brown spoke with several national outdoor magazines about avalanche related issues, 

which included providing information about Forest Service avalanche centers throughout the U.S. 

Finally, local radio stations, newspapers and television networks consistently called us for details on 

current conditions and general avalanche information. 

The UAC staff logged a total of 60 media contacts during the 2000-01 winter season, including 5 

national television interviews, 24 national print interviews, 12 local television interviews, two local radio 

interviews (in addition to our 3 regular broadcasts performed each morning), and nine interviews with 

local newspaper reporters. Finally, national television documentaries about avalanches, featuring 

member of our staff, continue to play on the Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, TBS and on 

PBS. 

Date Staff Agency Subject

Naional or 

International 

Television 

Interview

National or 

International 

Television 

Information

National 

or International 

Print 

Media

Local 

Television 

Interviews

Local 

Radio 

Interviews

Local 

Print 

Interviews

10/17/00 Tremper Television Rennessance Information 1

10/1/00 Tremper CTV - Canadian TV Avalanche footage 1

10/23/00 Tremper Pioneer Productions in U.K. Information 1

10/23/00 Tremper Breckinridge CO TV station Avalanche footage 1

10/25/00 Tremper History Channel Avalanche photos 1

11/7/00 Tremper Utah Outdoors Avalanche information 1

11/13/00 Tremper Salt Lake Tribune Avy Awareness 1

11/29/00 Brown Outside Magazine Website Information 1

12/3/00 Tremper Snowboard Life Magazine Interview on avalanche safety 1

12/5/00 Tremper Standard Examiner Current Conditions 1

12/6/00 Tremper PBS - Montana Avalanche footage 1

12/7/00 Kimbrough KPCW Current Weather 1

12/7/00 Brown/Felix Standard Examiner Avy Awareness 1

12/11/00 Kimbrough KPCW Current Conditions 1

12/11/00 Brown Channel 5 SLC Avy Awareness 1

12/13/00 Tremper

Discovery Channel interview 

in Washington D.C. Avalanche Science 1

12/15/00 Brown BYU Student Newspaper Avy Awareness 1

12/16/00 Lees SL Tribune Avy Awareness 1

12/16/00 Lees KSL TV Avy Awareness 1

12/17/00 Tremper Channel 4 SLC Avalanche conditions 1

12/18/00 Brown Salt Lake Tribune Avy Fatality 1

12/18/00 Brown Tooele Transcript Avy Fatality 1

12/18/00 Brown Gear Magazine Avy Awareness 1

12/19/00 Tremper

Environmental News 

Network Avalanche Cycle 1

UAC Media Contacts 2000-01 
FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 

33

12/19/00 Tremper Engelwood Studios, CA Avalanche footage 1

12/19/00 Brown KUER Avy Awareness 1

12/20/00 Brown Tooele Transcript Avy Information 1

1/6/01 Brown BYU Student Newspaper Avy Information 1

1/9/01 Greene Daily Herald Avy Fatality 1

1/15/01 Brown KSL News Radio Snowmobile Avy Awareness 1

1/18/01 Tremper Weather Channel Interview about avalanches 1

1/19/01 Tremper NBC Nightly News Interview about avalanches 1

1/21/01 Greene National documentary Avalanche research 1

1/22/01 Tremper NBC News documentary Interview about avalanches 1

1/25/01 Kimbrough Channel 5 SLC Current Weather 1

1/26/01 Brown Outdoor Retailer Magazine Avy Awareness 1

1/27/01 Brown/Felix Salt Lake Tribune Avy Awareness 1

1/28/01 Brown National Reporters Avy Awareness 8

2/2/01 Tremper Baltimore Sun Interview about avalanches 1

2/6/01 Kimbrough KSL TV Avy Information 1

2/7/01 Ciliberti Channel 5 SLC Avy Awareness 1

2/13/01 Tremper Salt Lake Tribune Avy Information 1

2/18/01 Brown Channel 2 SLC Current Conditions 1

2/20/01 Gordon Salt Lake Tribune Avy Awareness 1

2/24/01 Tremper Associated Press Avalanche incident 1

2/24/01 Tremper UPI Avalanche incident 1

2/26/00 Tremper Channel 4 SLC Interview about fatality 1

2/26/00 Tremper Manchester NH newspaper Interview about fatality 1

2/26/00 Tremper Salt Lake Tribune Interview about fatality 1

2/27/01 Tremper

Earth and Space Channel, 

UK Interview about avalanches 1

3/5/01 Brown SL Tribune Avy Awareness 1

3/10/01 Gorden Deseret News Avy Fatality 1

3/10/01 Brown National Reporter Avy Information 1

3/10/01 Brown SL Tribune Avy Information 1

3/11/01 Brown National Reporter Avy Fatalities in U.S. 1

3/11/01 Greene Channel 13 SLC Avy Fatality 1

3/11/01 Greene Channel 2 SLC Avy Fatality 1

3/12/01 Tremper KSL Radio Info about avalanche fatality 1

3/13/01 Brown Outdoor Retailer Magazine Avy Centers in U.S. 1

3/17/01 Gordon Channel 4 SLC Avy Education, Wasatch Plateau 1

3/25/01 Gordon Channel 13 SLC Avy Awareness 1

3/27/01 Tremper USA Today Interview about avalanches 1

3/29/01 Ciliberti Juneau, AK Newspaper Avy Rescue 1

3/29/01 Tremper Juneau AK Newspaper Avalanches in general 1

4/4/01 Tremper Cabin Life Magazine Interview about avalanches 1

4/12/01 Tremper Salt Lake Tribune Olympic avalanche issues 1

4/13/01 Tremper Outside Magazine Fatalities 1

4/29/01 Tremper Channel 4 SLC Fatalities 1

4/29/01 Tremper Channel 5 SLC Fatalities 1

4/29/01 Tremper Channel 13 SLC Fatalities 1

5/1/01 Tremper Anchorage Daily News Fatalities 1

5/11/01 Tremper Salt Lake Tribune Fatalities 1

5/21/01 Tremper Discover Magazine Interview about avalanches 1

5/25/01 Tremper Magazine in Greece Interview about avalanches 1

Total 5 8 24 12 2 9

60 Total Contacts
ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER 

34

Budget 

The Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center is the epitome of a successful partnership between the 

Forest Service and other funding partners. Our Forest Service base operating funds were $37,000 this 

year. The other cornerstones of our budget include $25,000 from State of Utah Comprehensive 

Emergency Management Fund, $20,000 from Salt Lake County, $12,000 from a National Recreation 

Trails Program grant administered by Utah State Parks (approximately 1/3 of the total grant), and a 

$12,000 donation from the Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center (of which $6000 goes to Logan and 

$6000 to SLC). The Friends also spent an additional $20,000 outside of the Forest Service budget on 

projects directly supporting the Utah Avalanche Center. This diversity in funding builds a strong 

financial foundation for the Utah Avalanche Center. 

The FS Utah Avalanche Center also receives about $20,000 per year from the Forest Service 2002 

Planning Team, which is preparing for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. UAC Co-Director Bruce 

Tremper works full time on Olympic related projects. All of these Olympic related projects will directly 

benefit the Utah Avalanche Center (see section on Olympics). 

As always, our heads are constantly swimming with great ideas for better ways to communicate critical 

avalanche information to the public, better and more avalanche education, and expanding the areas 

our forecasts cover. All this takes time and money, and we’re still searching for new and consistent 

funding sources. 

Total Northern Utah Revenues

 

FS Olympic Funds $35,000

Friends of UAC $32,000

FS base Operating Funds $37,000

State of Utah $25,000

Salt Lake County $20,000

National Recreation Trails Program $10,000

Utah State University $6,000

Total $165,000

Total Northern Utah Expenditures

Total Logan Expenditures 18,000

Salt Lake Salary 101,000

Telephone 10,000

Local Travel 2,500

Equiptment and Supplies 8,500

FUAC Spending Outside FS 20,000

Training and Travel 3,000

Printing 2,000

Total 165,000
FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 

35

Total Northern Utah Revenues

FS Olympic 

Funds

21%

Friends of UAC

19%

Salt Lake County

12%

National 

Recreation Trails 

Program

6%

Utah State 

University

4%

State of Utah

15%

FS base 

Operating Funds

23%

Total Northern Utah Expenditures

Total Logan 

Expenditures

11%

Salt Lake Salary 

61%

Local Travel

2%

FUAFC Spending 

Outside FS

12%

Telephone

6%

Printing

Training and 1%

Travel

2%

Equiptment and 

Supplies

5%
ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER 

36

The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center 

The Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, a non-profit 501 3 (c), was once again a keystone in the 

funding of our operation. Through a combination of the annual Black Diamond fundraiser, a ski swap, 

avalanche classes, video sales and donations, they raised almost $40,000 last year. About $12,000 

was donated directly to the Wasatch-Cache National Forest, and was used to support the Salt Lake 

and Logan avalanche centers. The Friends spent an additional $20,000 outside of the Forest Service, 

which directly supported FSUAC programs. 

Fund raising events and people that deserve special mention include: 

The Board of the Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center – A hard working and dedicated board is 

what makes the Friends a success. We are indebted to Colleen Graham, Katharine Mead, Mark 

Holbrook, Peter Donner, Karen Kelly, Wendy Zeigler, Amy Abbott, and Nancy King for all the time and 

energy they put towards helping the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center. 

Black Diamond supports the Friends and the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center by hosting an 

annual fundraiser and covering the cost of food, drinks, tents and music, in addition to donating the time 

and labor of their employees working on the fundraiser. Black Diamond also provides graphic art 

support through out the year, organization of the ski swap and meeting space for avalanche talks and 

meetings. 

All the individual backcountry users who support the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center by 

making personal donations each year to the Friends, including over 700 individuals who contributed at 

the annual fall fundraiser. 

Evolution and Uinta Brewing Company for their generous donation to offset the expenses of the 

annual fundraiser. 

Voile Equipment and Milosport each donated $500 to provide scholarships to help snowboarders 

attend a Level 1 multi-day avalanche workshop. 

REI for providing space for the annual fundraising ski swap, meeting space for avalanche talks, and 

assistance for signups for avalanche workshops. 

Wasatch Mountain Club for donation of the lodge for a three-day workshop. 

Banff Film Festival and U of U Outdoor Recreation Program for a generous donation. 

Special recognition and thanks to Brad Barber, Al Soucie, Joe Food, John Byrne, and the Salt Lake 

Roasting Company for their contributions of time and/or money. 
FOREST SERVICE UTAH AVALANCHE CENTER ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001 

37

Wasatch Plateau/Manti Skyline Avalanche Forecasts and Snowmobile 

Avalanche Education 

The Utah Avalanche Center applied for and was awarded a generous grant of $34,500 from the 

National Recreation Trails Program, administered through Utah State Parks. The primary project 

funded was to provide a weekend and holiday avalanche and mountain weather advisory for the 

Wasatch Plateau/Manti Skyline region. This is an area highly used by snowmobilers and other winter 

recreationsts that sees numerous avalanche incidents each season. Additional projects funded 

included more personnel available for statewide avalanche education for both motorized and nonmotorized backcountry users, ongoing development and maintenance of educational products, and 

continuing the daily avalanche bulletin for snowmobilers on the Utah State Parks 1-800 system. 

Craig Gordon and Eric Trenbeath began work on many of these programs the winter of 1999-2000, 

and both continued the work this season as Wasatch-Cache National Forest employees. They 

alternated the responsibility of covering the Wasatch Plateau/Manti Skyline forecasts and fieldwork. 

Additionally, Craig concentrated on providing snowmobile avalanche education in northern Utah and 

Eric in southern and eastern Utah. 2001 season accomplishments include: 

• Operation of a weekend and holiday advisory for the Wasatch Plateau/Manti Skyline 

• Information available via toll-free telephone hotline and internet 

• Installation of a remote weather station partnered through UDOT 

• Internet archive of expired advisories for mid-week reference 

• Expanded avalanche forecasting for the greater Manti-Lasal National Forest. 

Twenty-one Avalanche Education courses reached over 450 people, targeting the snowmobiling 

public and land management and search and rescue personnel. Media contacts included both local 

and statewide TV and newspaper articles and interviews, and Public Service announcements on local 

radios. Specific Snowmobile Outreach Products included: 

• Placemats for local diners containing avalanche safety tips, advisory hotlines and contact 

information for classes. 5000 distributed. 

• Placards promoting the Manti Skyline and other regional advisories distributed statewide to 

local convenience stores, snowmobile dealerships, County, State and Federal offices. 

• An article on avalanche safety for “Snowscoop”, a Utah Snowmobile Association publication. 

• Web site link between the avalanche advisory and Utah Snowmobile Association homepage. 

Great community support and team work enhanced results of the project. A special thanks to all the 

partners, including the Wasatch-Cache and Manti Lasal National Forests, Utah Snowmobile 

Association, Snowscoop, Utah State Parks, Big Pine Sports and backcountry observers.