Salt Lake Snowcast Nick McEachern

Hey Everyone! Our first season at the Salt Lake Snowcast is starting to wrap up. Before we finish, I wanted to do an episode on our most requested topic: avalanche education and backcountry mentorship. To talk with me about this on the show is local guide and avalanche forecaster Kiira Antenucci. Kiira and I chat about how to make the jump from intermediate to expert, ways to find mentorship and ski partners, and we share our own opinions about the state of avalanche education. Tune in for a passionate discussion.

It's been an awesome Winter in the Wasatch. With around 550" so far this year and 75" since the start of Spring, we are so lucky to call these mountains home. My next episode will be a season recap. Thanks for giving the Salt Lake Snowcast a listen. Please subscribe, follow, download, and review the podcast. Every little bit of support helps me grow this small, niche, local podcast.

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling a little seasonally confused these days. We had vicious East winds followed by high pressure and now, Old Man Winter has returned. We could see another few feet of snow before the end of the month so get out there and ski it while you can! 

On today's episode, I had the chance to chat with my friend Chris Dickson from the San Juan Snowcast. Along with taking a behind the scenes look at both podcasts, we'll talk about our motivation behind these shows. I'll also tell a story from a near miss I had this past week and walk you through my decision making in the mountains. I've talked about it before, but Chris was a big inspiration for the Salt Lake Snowcast, so scroll through his page, check out his long list of topics he's covered, and give it a listen!

As always, thanks for the support. DMs are always open. I've got a few more episodes in me this season and then the pod will hibernate for the warm weather months. 

The Salt Lake Snowcast is back this week with an interview from local skier Mark White AKA @spindrift65 on Instagram. Mark has been ski touring in the Wasatch for the past 40 years and has a perspective and approach to backcountry skiing that we haven’t really talked about this season. While he’s well known for his aesthetically pleasing powder turns and skin tracks, Mark is also prolific in making observations and paying attention to the mountains. 
When I started the SLSC this year, Mark was on my shortlist of folks to talk to and I’m stoked he was able to come on the show. One of my goals with the pod is to try and share knowledge by offering the community a new way to gain insight into backcountry skiing in the Wasatch. Mark’s interview this week is a great example of this and I think we can all learn something from his approach to the mountains.
Lastly, a final reminder to subscribe to the podcast and never hesitate to send us a DM!

After taking last week off, we are back this weekend to talk with Jack Stauss about our current conditions as we head into another active period of weather. March is usually my favorite ski month with longer days and a more stable snowpack. We’ve made it over the hump of what we call Deep Winter, but we can still pretty much see any type of weather imaginable moving forward through the season. Buckle up, because March is coming in like a lion with lots of wind and moisture.
Thanks for checking out the Salt Lake Snowcast. We’ll be doing weekly episode for at least the next month. If you’re interested in sponsoring the show, or if you have ideas for a sponsorship, reach out to the DMs on Instagram or saltlakesnowcast@gmail.com. To me, what's more important than a sponsorship is hearing from listeners about what you think about the show, giving us a five star rating, and sharing our episodes and Instagram posts.  We'll be back next week!

Thanks for checking out the Salt Lake Snowcast! This is our longest episode yet, but it's an important story to hear and I think any backcountry skier or rider will benefit from the accident analysis and discussion had in this week's episode. 

After a few sunny and calm days in the mountains, we are turning the corner and heading into another active period of weather. I’m already excited to add up the snow totals on next week’s episode! In the beginning of today’s show, I’ll recap a what was a busy weekend for skier triggered avalanches before analyzing one of these events.
In the second part of the episode, I’ll turn the podcast over to Zack Little and Billy Haas to tell the story of a rescue in Lisa Falls from this past Saturday where they helped facilitate a helicopter evacuation of a solo skier they saw get avalanched 1500 feet down the couloir. Using this accident as a case study, we dissect travel etiquette in the Wasatch, the dangers of ignoring red flags, the importance terrain management, communication, and next steps for our backcountry community. I’d like this to be an ongoing conversation, so don’t be shy and send us an email or reach out to us on Instagram.

What a week of powder skiing! A bit of wind early in the week, but things really turned on with right side up snow and light density powder coming in the last few days with light winds. This weekend should be all time conditions with bottomless turns under clear and cold sunny skies. Utah is still above average for the year with both snow and water. We’re doing much better than other parts of the country, so enjoy the snow and be grateful for what we have!
In Part 2 of today’s show, I sit down and talk with Alex Veilleux from Save Our Great Salt Lake. Alex is part of a movement hoping to prevent the aridification of our beautiful and beloved Great Salt Lake. We’ll chat about how the drying up of the lake will impact skiers and riders through dust and the loss of lake effect snow. The episode wraps up with some advice and ideas for ways to get involved.
Thanks for the support this past week! As always, I love hearing what people think about the show. If you ever have something you want to talk about and are interested in being a guest on the podcast, let me know! You can find us on IG at @saltlakesnowcast or reach out via email saltlakesnowcast@gmail.com