Avalanche Photos Archives

Avalanches in Big & Little Cottonwood Canyon Early April 2023

During the last week of March and first week of April, Big & Little Cottonwood Canyons saw an epic snow cycle the likes of which have never been seen before. Little Cottonwood Canyon (“LCC”) closed due to avalanche danger on Sunday April 2, 2023. The canyon generally did not open again until Saturday April 8. (There were two brief periods when the canyon was open to the public to downhill travel only, so that people who needed/wanted could leave. Otherwise, the general public was prohibited from going up or down the canyon during the period April 1-8.

Articles / Weather | Snow | Utah

Summer Avalanches in Little Cottonwood Canyon

Articles published by The Salt Lake Tribune.
Video by Utah Dept. of Transportation & KSL-TV

Violent storms in the Salt Lake and Utah Counties area resulted in flooding and mud & rock slides in several canyons and nearby run-off zones. Here are a few articles from The Salt Lake Tribune chronicling the aftermath.

Articles / Weather | Snow | Utah

Glide Avalanches

Glide avalanche
Avalanche Encyclopedia, Avalanche.org

“Glide occurs when the entire snowpack slowly slides as a unit on the ground. Glide avalanches can be composed of wet, moist, or almost entirely dry snow and pose a hazard that is very difficult to forecast.”

Articles / Weather | Snow | Utah

The Wizard of the Wasatch (WoW)

Bob Athey is the Wizard of the Wasatch. His website is “Snow and avalanche conditions in the Wasatch range including photos, diagrams, snow pit graphs and trip reports in winter. Images of wildflowers, goats and other wildlife, changing season leaves, and trip reports from hikes and runs in the summer and fall.”

Spend some time poking around his site. You’ll be well rewarded for your efforts. Here too is a collection of articles and videos featuring the WoW.

Articles / Weather | Snow | Utah

Colorado Avalanches: Hwy 550, Highlands Ridge & Winter Storm Ulmer – March, 2019

Colorado was the lucky recipient of historic snow falls early in March, 2019. Here is a collection of some of the news stories and video about the storm and some of the resulting avalanches. This article focuses on the overall storm, eventually labeled as Winter Storm Ulmer, and avalanches along U.S. Highway 550 plus the Highlands Ridge avalanche.