Dangerous Avy Conditions this weekend: Manti Skyline-Fairview-Ephraim Canyons

[Brett Kobernik]

Careful out there this weekend folks! I've been riding snowbikes and skiing the last two days on the Skyline and I don't like the set up. Old snow that sat around and turned to weak sugary snow in January and February has been buried with two feet or more of new snow. It was too much for a number of slopes and they naturally avalanched. However, many have not released and many of these are fairly popular slopes to climb.

We were looking at a natural avalanche up Spring City Canyon and I prodded at the flank. It collapsed and caused a large avalanche adjacent to the one we were on.

Many other snowmobile triggered avalanches have occurred over the last few days.

Many of us haven't had a lot of good powder riding this year and I suspect many will head out this weekend to take advantage of the new snow. Powder fever plus unstable snowpack is a bad deal. Be careful around the Skyline.

Brett Kobernik
Utah Avalanche Center

 

[Brett Kobernik]

<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/121521943" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe> <p><a href="https://vimeo.com/121521943">20150306Skyline</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user22267564">Brett Kobernik</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

 

[UtahEdge]

we had a small one break on us on Friday. We were lucky it wasn't bigger.

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[Brett Kobernik]

Thanks UtahEdge. Looks like middle of Seeley. I was standing on the Skyline ridge above that on Friday and wondering if it was going to avalanche. Glad no one got caught!

Had another report of someone getting caught and carried down near Manti. They reported it as "Cove" but I'm not sure where that is.

Conditions still ripe for slides today.

 

[Brett Kobernik]

There have been a number of sled triggered avalanches still happening during this week along the Manti Skyline. They continue to break into old weak snow from Jan-Feb. They are breaking fairly deep and are larger than you want to deal with. Warm temps this weekend may enhance this issue further before it eventually calms down. Keep your heads up! This issue is in a lot of the favorite steep north and northeast facing terrain right now.