Podcast

Utah native Lacey discusses her love for outdoor activities and the impact of a harsh winter on summer plans. The unusually heavy snowfall caused avalanches, landslides, and flooding, damaging trails and putting people at risk. The winter was record-breaking and helped alleviate the drought, but it also delayed summer activities. Utah's canyons suffered severe damage, requiring extensive rebuilding efforts. Despite the setbacks, the heavy snowfall was beneficial for ski season and water levels in the Great Salt Lake and basins rose significantly. Lacey emphasizes the importance of being prepared and cautious when venturing into the canyons. She hopes for a winter that continues to address the drought while allowing her to make up for lost time in the canyon. Hey Lacey listeners, it's Lacey and I'm back with another podcast. To start out, I think it's important if you know what my roots are. I'm from Utah, born and raised. I've lived here my whole life and I often do find myself getting very bored here. However, Utah is just so beautiful and there are so many outdoor activities to just keep me entertained all year round. Ever since I was little, the outdoor activities have always been one of my number one favorite hobbies. Every summer I go camping, hiking, climbing, off-roading, boating, you name it. I have done it. The same goes for wintertime. I go skiing, sledding, all the winter activities you can really think of. You could say I'm a real Utahan, living the full Utah experience. I consider myself a member of the outdoor community. I take advantage of the fact that I live so close to the canyons and ski resorts and try and go as much as possible. While living in Utah, I look forward to every summer and all the outdoor activities that are available. Especially last summer, my friends and I had planned so many activities for the canyon and planned to spend most of our days in the canyon. So when school was finally over, we planned our first hike, which was up AF Canyon. However, the Alpine Loop was still closed off, which is weird because it was June and it's usually open by May April-ish. So we had to do a different hike that we have already done before. Throughout the hike, we noticed a lot of snow and a ton of damage to the trail. It got so bad that there was no longer a trail and just mounds of snow and trees everywhere. We thought it would be smart and so we turned back. As summer went on, I noticed that a ton of trails were closed off and there was extreme flooding happening everywhere in the canyon. I was very disappointed because I spent no time in the canyon compared to other summers. There was a ton of damage to other canyons and houses as well and all these things were a result of the crazy winter we had last year. Utah is famous for its snow, but this winter was record-breaking and this winter was one of the longest winters I have ever experienced. Having a harsh winter is good and bad for the outdoor community. It's good for ski season, but very bad for summer because it pushes back summer activities. The main issue isn't that the canyons aren't ready for summer activities, but the canyons are suffering severe damages to them because the intense snowfall that triggers avalanches, landslides, flooding, all of those natural disasters, which then puts people in danger of getting hurt when going into canyon to do activities. So the first thing I did to better understand the causation of this issue is that I wanted to find out why this winter was worse than other winters in the past and it's important to note that Utah is currently in a drought. I found a lot of my information through weather and news reports. A certain report released by KSL caught my attention and I found that this winter broke records from 1983. I was able to understand why it was so important that we got this winter so it could further help the drought problems. In this video they interviewed Mackenzie Miskiles, who is an assistant professor at the University of Utah and head of the snow hydrology research operation lab. In the video she talks about her installment of an instrumental at the Atwater study plot at the Alta Ski Resort to study the process that controls snow accumulation and snow melt, which was completely buried in snow. This shows how much snow we received and that no one really expected it either. The video also talks about how major basins in Utah water levels were increased by a ton, but it's going to take a while to get us out of this drought. In another video released by KSL talks about the mass destruction canyons endured this winter. A reporter Karen Bracken informs us to be cautious when driving the canyon because of the avalanches and rock slide. She even mentions Logan Canyon was closed off due to an avalanche, which put people in danger. For me it's very easy to point out the cons, which are being pushed back of summer activities, but the main causes are damages to the canyon and dangers to people in the canyon when wanting to do activities. People's homes were also impacted by flooding and even some houses slid down the mountain from landslides. The Forest Service has also been working overtime and had to hire a ton of volunteers to help rebuild trails, camping spots, public bathrooms, just anything in the canyon. A lot of it got impacted, so they were needing a ton of help to rebuild these things. But overall Utah really, really needed this water and the Great Salt Lake and major basins reached levels that they haven't reached in years. While it didn't completely put an end to drought, it definitely started progress. And finally, the most obvious pro of a harsh winter is the ski season was extended till June, which was crazy. Yeah, the summer was very disappointing and was greatly impacted by the hectic winter we had, but Utah really needed it to start helping Utah's drought problem. And more importantly, living in Utah, we need to be prepared with equipment and trail information before we head up to the canyon, so we are more prepared just in case we encounter avalanches or landslides or flooding. Hopefully this winter continues to help solve the drought problem, but isn't too bad because I want to make up the time I lost last summer and be in the canyon as much as possible. Thanks LACI's listeners for listening.