SALT LAKE CITY — William Strobe and Nate Engstrom have spent several years skiing in the Wasatch mountains.
“And at a ski resort…to get first tracks, if you’re lucky, you got to be up at 4 in the morning," said Strobe.
With the help of time and experience, they found their calling in the vast backcountry terrain Utah has to offer.
“You enjoy the fun, you share the fun and you share the suck," said Engstrom.
The two shared their Friday afternoon in the White Pine area because they know what Mother Nature has in store.
“Yeah I probably wouldn’t get out here the next few days," said Strobe.
That's because according to Utah Avalanche Center's own Craig Gordon, a big storm is on the way and will bring concerning conditions to Utah's mountains.
“We are gonna pile up inches of water, feet of snow that’s gonna be accompanied with very strong wind," said Gordon. "We expect the avalanche danger is gonna rise rapidly.”
The Utah Department of Transportation closed areas of Little Cottonwood Canyon's backcountry until 6 p.m. Saturday.
“No matter how we’re headed out on the snow this weekend it’s been a minute or two since we’ve had a good storm," said Gordon.
The time between storms creates weak layers on the surface, which collapse into avalanches when they get overloaded with denser snow.
“It depends where you ski. If you’re skiing on a steep slope and you have cliffs below you, it doesn’t require a big avalanche to cause major damage," said Gordon. “We can enjoy the hard work of the men and women at the ski patrol teams and visit our world class resorts - where active avalanche mitigation is being performed.”
