Utah State Parks Promote Avalanche Safety
OutdoorHub 01.31.12
With snowmobile season underway and avalanche conditions high, Utah State Parks Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Statewide Coordinator Chris Haller encourages snowmobilers to be aware of and prepared for dangerous conditions.
“Recent snow, layered on snow from earlier in the season, increases avalanche danger. It is important to check conditions and be prepared for anything you may encounter in the backcountry,” stated Haller.
Haller provides the following safety tips:
- Visit snowut.com or call 801-538-RIDE for current conditions and grooming reports.
- Make sure everyone in your group wears an avalanche beacon and knows how to use it.
- Always carry a shovel that can be used to dig a person or your machine out of the snow.
- Carry an avalanche probe.
- Watch for slopes steeper than 30 degrees; a steeper slope increases the chance for both natural and human triggered avalanches to occur.
Utah State Parks rangers are currently grooming the following complexes:
Logan Canyon, Monte Cristo, Hardware Ranch, Wasatch Mountain, Chalk Creek, Mirror Lake/Mill Hollow, Skyline Drive, Mt. Nebo, Strawberry Valley and Fish Lake.
