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In an accident which occurred on March 9, 2020 pro skier Nick McNutt was using a Pieps DSP avalanche beacon, which is now believed to have malfunctioned and switched off while McNutt was skiing.

“In the following days I was in disbelief that Nick’s transceiver had turned off,” ACMG guide Christina Lustenberger, who was present, wrote. “The experience left me questioning the integrity of the Pieps DSP Pro. A few days after the incident I sent an email to the guiding community inquiring about similar experiences or issues with this device. I was surprised to see my email flooded with similar accounts.”

According to Lustenberger, the possible problem is that the DSP Pro beacon “can switch modes easily without the user’s knowledge … Due to poor design the button wears out and no longer provides resistance allowing it to slide out of send mode,” she continued in her post.

Since then, several others in the guiding and skiing community have subsequently noted similar issues with the slide lock mechanism, and Pieps and Black Diamond now face a class-action lawsuit related to these claims.

For a complete story and video check out the story on Gear Junkie: https://gearjunkie.com/nick-mcnutt-avalanche-pieps-beacon-dsppro

SALT LAKE CITY — Upwards of 30 inches of snow have fallen in some areas in the Wasatch Mountains with those eager for powder already hiking in to take advantage.

Utah Avalanche Center has been observing the conditions and heeds warning for those taking some early season turns.

“You don’t want to ruin your season before it gets started,” said Craig Gordon with the Utah Avalanche Center. “Rocks and deadfall and stumps and slamming into those objects I mean that’s probably the biggest hazard right now.”

UAC anticipates a busy winter season following suit from a busy summer with more people flocking to the mountains during the pandemic.

“Sometimes our avalanche awareness skills don’t really keep up with our ski or riding or snowmobile skills so we’ve got to think about toning it down a little bit,” said Gordon. “Actually, we saw a huge uptick in human-triggered avalanches, close calls and near-misses so that’s the exact thing we want to avoid.”

In the 2019/2020 season, six deaths stemmed from avalanches in Utah. Four of the six were snowmobilers.

Fox 13 – Salt Lake City