Month: January 2025

Frostbite is more than just feeling cold when you are outdoors during the winter. It is a condition that will cause more problems than a pair of gloves can correct.

The University of Utah Hospital, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Mayo Clinic and other medical centers warn that frostbite can affect any area of the body, but hands, feet, nose, ears, and any other extremities that have been exposed to cold temperatures are at a greater risk for the injury. After a long period of time in the cold, tissue in the body can start to freeze, causing frostbite.

Chances are, you have experienced the first stage of the condition, referred to as frostnip: numbness in your fingers, for example, and/or tingling and pain and redness where the exposure took place. If you have ever had the pain and tingling feeling after the numbness goes away, you also have experienced the first stage.

The hope is, however, not to experience stages 1 through 4, which include blisters, tissue damage and amputations. Covering up and keeping warm can help keep these stages at bay, according to medical professionals.

“I feel like a lot of people forget about frostbite in the winter. We go off skiing and enjoy our time,” said Dr. Giavonni Lewis, medical director for the University of Utah Burn Center, where frostbite cases are typically treated. “What we tend to recommend is for everyone to bundle up as much as possible.”

Lewis spoke to reporters regarding the dangers of frostbite on Friday morning, where she and Dr. Irma Fleming, a surgeon in the University of Utah Hospital Burn Center, spoke of the ways one gets frostbite, as well as how to be aware of the symptoms and know who is at risk

More about frostbite:

Symptoms

• Pain, tingling, burning, numbness or aching.

• Skin that is paler than normal, cold and hard.

• Redness or pain.

• A white or grayish-yellow skin area.

• Skin that feels abnormally firm or waxy.

• Blisters in the first 24 hours.

While frostbite can affect any part of the body, it most commonly affects:

If you or someone you know experience any symptoms, contact your doctor immediately.

Source: University of Utah Hospital and the Mayo Clinic

While people accustomed to cold weather may practice putting on hats, gloves, scarves and thermal pants when they leave the house in the winter, those new to the cold weather may have the biggest problems, Lewis said. Those bright, sunny days can be deceiving to people from other parts of the country who equate sunshine and blue skies with warmer weather and less covering up of appendages.

The population with the highest risk for frostbite, however, are not skiing tourists or new Utah transplants but those living in homelessness.

At the moment, every shelter in Salt Lake County is at capacity, but during “code blue” warnings, when the temperature is expected to be 18 degrees Fahrenheit or below — including wind chill — for at least two hours, capacity for the homeless can expand, said Tricia Davis Winter, director of the Office of Homeless Services.

State law also requires that efforts are made to speak with anyone living unsheltered in the county about the dangers of the decreasing temperatures and the ability to stay indoors during the code blue warning. While it may seem difficult to reach everyone, experienced outreach teams, websites, social services agency staff and shelter employees and volunteers speak to as many people as possible about the code blue, Davis Winter said.

Although expectations of 18 degrees can trigger a code blue message, doctors note that their medical reporting highlights 32 degrees as the potential frostbite temperature. Fleming spoke of the complexities with that: If someone is wet while in the wintry outdoors, including in the feet, the temperature does not need to reach the freezing point. Higher temperatures can also invite frostbite if one is cold and sweating, she said.

She strongly suggests that if you or anyone you know — children included — suspect frostbite, contact a medical professional so they can take a look at it and determine treatment.

“Lucky for us, we support five states, so even if you’re not here in the Salt Lake area … we can always give pointers about care,” Fleming said.

Inside a sporting complex just off of West Temple in South Salt Lake, laughter and the thud of soccer cleats engulf the space.

“Block her, block her!” yelled #SheBelongs head coach Marli Berg. Throughout the hourlong practice, her soccer buddy Knox — her baby boy, just a few months old — was propped on her hip.

It’s been a year and a half since #SheBelongs – a Utah girls soccer team where half of the players are refugees – embarked through three continents to compete against local refugee soccer clubs.

Now, an all-new group of girls are preparing for a similar trip in June, for the organization’s Global Cup in Madrid against other developing #SheBelongs teams from Washington, D.C., India, Germany and Japan.

Practices, usually held on Friday or Saturday, all start the same – technical exercises disguised as icebreakers to get through the “quiet” between the 15-to-18-year-old girls, Berg said.

“Some of them have never played soccer before,” Berg said, noting that the team had just started training in September. These icebreakers, she said, “[push] them a little.”

“Especially if that’s the first thing we do and we’re a little awkward,” said Aroosa Khurram, 16, with a laugh. “It can get us to open up.”

Madyson Fuimaono was the first of her teammates to arrive at a recent Friday evening practice, already wearing her turquoise cleats. It’s her fourth year on a club team, Fuimaono said, adding that she joined #SheBelongs not only to grow her athletic skills but to create “connections.”

“To be able to just come together over a game,” Fuimaono said, “it’s like being able to see [that], in the world, we can just come together with a simple thing like soccer.”

The best part of practice comes in the last half hour, said Berg, where the teens “just play.”

“The minute you put a soccer ball out here, look how much more energy and life came out,” she said, watching from the bleachers as the girls scrimmage.

Berg said her love for soccer began when she was 4, when her parents put her in the sport to burn off her “100 mile per hour” energy. “Nothing’s changed,” Berg said, who splits her time among three soccer teams – Utah Avalanche Soccer Club, SLCC’s Women’s Soccer and Refugee Soccer (#SheBelongs’ parent organization).

“Without a doubt,” Berg said, #SheBelongs has been the highlight of her coaching career.

“Obviously, soccer is my passion. It’s my love,” Berg said, but “seeing their success,” from their first day to their last, has made the experience “just so fun.”

“Let me [be] the minuscule, minuscule part of their path,” said Berg. “Dust on [their] way to success.”

‘A second family anywhere I go’

It was a rainy July in Auckland, New Zealand, when the #SheBelongs team huddled at a local park’s soccer field. Still reeling from a match loss in Tokyo, the players listened to Berg as she, through her routine pep talk, cracked jokes.

Aliyah Bugingo, one of the gathered players, said she remembers that moment whenever she looks at her Instagram – a photo that captures her “favorite” game is pinned on her profile.

“I realized in that moment … that I have a second family anywhere I go,” said Bugingo, 18.

Months later, on the field at Taylorsville High for her first high-school soccer practice, she said the atmosphere felt off. Bugingo said she remembered thinking, “this is not my team.”

As a player for the inaugural #SheBelongs team, Bugingo spent two weeks traveling through San Francisco, Australia, Tokyo and Auckland. Before the trip, engagements with media and state officials, including Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, filled her time.

The bond that grew between Bugingo and the 21 other players is one she said she’s not sure she will experience again.

“I always knew that I had a sister on my side of me,” said Bugingo, her “closest” friends made while on the team.

For Khurram, who left Pakistan as a refugee and has lived in Utah since 2017, the team signals belonging.

Khurram gestured towards her teammates at a recent December practice, and said, “here, I feel like everyone can get together, no matter their background.”

Those feelings were furthered, she said, at a recent holiday party, where each player brought food from their culture. Khurram said she and her mom brought store-bought samosas, which were an instant hit with everyone.

“It’s just a big family,” she said. “Even though we haven’t known each other for so long.”

Bugingo was a year old when her family left the Democratic Republic of Congo for Ethiopia. When she was 8, she moved to Utah, a place where she didn’t feel “in tune” with her own refugee community.

Joining the #SheBelongs team was the first time, she said, she felt like she didn’t have to change to fit in.

“Going to school, making friends was really hard because I didn’t feel like I belonged in any kind of way — because either my English was not really good, or I didn’t understand their culture,” Bugingo said. “I had to change myself – physically and mentally – to fit the aesthetic of a Utah student.”

Besides wearing the team’s apparel “24/7,” Bugingo said she has sought for others not to “feel the same type of pain.”

“I carry that with me,” said Bugingo of the program’s message. “To make everybody feel [like they] belong.”

A note to readers • To help pay for the #SheBelongs Global Cup, the group is selling 12 prints from Salt Lake Tribune political cartoonist Pat Bagley, featuring an image of education advocate and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala Yousafzai. The prints, each signed by Bagley and Yousafzai, can be purchased at the group’s website, shebelongs.org/malala.

The 265th edition of the BYU-Utah basketball rivalry had its share of heroes from the team wearing red.

Thanks to the efforts of Ezra Ausar, Lawson Lovering and Hunter Erickson — and key contributions from other Runnin’ Utes — Utah was able to win a 73-72 thriller in overtime on Saturday night at the Huntsman Center.

It was a game where free-throw shooting ended up being a primary factor, and one where Utah’s identity it has forged during a three-game winning streak — attacking the paint — played out in its favor.

While the Utes went 17 of 32 from the free-throw line, far from the type of efficiency Utah would like to see from the line, that was much better than BYU’s 4 of 10 shooting from the charity stripe.

In a way, Ausar, Lovering and Erickson all had their own free-throw stories to tell from the Utah victory, and it was spurred by their ability to help the Utes win the battle in the paint against the Cougars.

“That’s the glass half empty,” Utah coach Craig Smith said, of the high number of free throws the team missed. “The glass half full is at least we got to the free throw line 32 times, and we made 17.

“Two weeks ago, there was no chance we’re going to make 17 free throws in a game because we wouldn’t get fouled. But we’re playing a different brand now. We’re getting to the line more, we’re attacking more. We’re just playing with way more force, and it’s big boy basketball. And that was a big boy basketball win.”

Ausar, Lovering and Erickson led that “big boy basketball” mentality against BYU.

Ezra Ausar

Ausar had easily his most impactful game as a Ute, scoring a season-high 26 points, just two of his career-high of 28 last season when he was at East Carolina.

The 6-foot-8 junior forward shot 11 of 15 from the floor, as well as 4 of 8 from the free-throw line.

He also had six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

After scoring two points in the first half, Ausar had 21 in the second half and three more in overtime.

He scored 12 of those points alone during a 16-4 run where Utah turned a 35-27 deficit into a 43-39 lead.

Ausar scored on a wide-open dunk in the final minute of regulation when Gabe Madsen drove then kicked to Ausar for the slam. That play gave Utah a 63-62 lead.

He rebounded a BYU miss on the next possession and was fouled, then hit 1 of 2 free throws to make it a two-point game.

The Cougars responded with a short jumper from Fousseyni Traore, forcing overtime.

Ausar then scored Utah’s first three points of the extra session.

In the final minute of overtime, with Utah trailing by one, he poked the ball away from Richie Saunders, and that led to a possession where Hunter Erickson was fouled, then hit two free throws to give the Utes the lead back.

It’s also an encouraging sign given the context of Utah’s two wins last week. In the Utes’ 73-65 victory over TCU on Wednesday, fellow forward Keanu Dawes scored 16 points and had two critical defensive plays in the final minute — one a block, and another a steal — as Utah held off a TCU comeback.

Lawson Lovering

The 7-foot Lovering was a physical force for Utah in the paint, setting the tone inside from the get-go.

When Utah went on a 16-4 run early in the second half, he had four points in that stretch and also proved to be a menace on the defensive end.

Lovering ended the night with 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks.

It’s the latest in an impressive run of games for the senior big man, who’s been integral in each of Utah’s games during its three-game win streak.

The only negative in his game Saturday night was his free-throw shooting — Lovering was 5 of 11 as BYU employed a Hack-a-Shaq philosophy, daring him to make the Cougars pay from the free-throw line.

The idea worked more than it didn’t — that included Lovering missing two free throws in overtime, and on the year, he’s shooting 42.6% from the line.

Lovering, though, was still a handful for BYU to deal with, and he played much of the second half and overtime with four fouls without fouling out — a sign of learning from the center.

Hunter Erickson

Erickson, the former BYU guard whose college career has taken him from Provo to a year at Salt Lake Community College to now two seasons at Utah, came up in several clutch moments for the Utes against his former team.

His first points of the game came on a 3-pointer with 9:39 left in regulation, and was a direct response to a BYU 3-pointer moments earlier. That play gave Utah a 53-48 lead.

Then in overtime, Erickson was as assertive as he’s been all year.

When Utah was struggling to score in overtime as it clanked several free throws, Erickson drilled a 3-pointer with 2:08 on the clock that made it a 70-70 game. He confidently stepped back and made the shot with BYU’s Dallin Hall on defense.

Then in the final minute, Erickson again was assertive, scoring the Utes’ final three points, all from the free-throw line.

First, he was fouled with 47 seconds left and Utah trailing by two.

Erickson made the first shot from the charity stripe, but with the chance to tie the game, he airballed the second attempt.

That was his first free-throw miss since mid-November — Erickson is an 87.5% free throw shooter this year, on 16 attempts.

Erickson, though, got the chance for redemption.

After Ausar forced a turnover, Utah again had possession and the chance to take the lead. Erickson again drove into the lane and was fouled.

This time, he nailed both free throws.

Erickson finished the night with nine points, two assists, one steal and a rebound while playing 23 minutes.

What’s next

Utah will be tested again this week with a trip to No. 10 Houston on Tuesday, followed by a home matchup against No. 25 Baylor.

The Cougars narrowly avoided an upset against UCF on Saturday, while the Bears were knocked off at home by TCU on Sunday.

A side note from Baylor’s loss: TCU, which Utah beat on the road last Wednesday, rose to No. 73 in the NET NCAA rankings by beating the Bears.

The Utes’ win on the road over the Horned Frogs now qualifies, at least for the moment, now qualifies as a Quad 1 win.

Ezra Ausar jumped into Craig Smith’s arms.

The Utes’ hero and head coach held onto each other for just a moment after the buzzer sounded and thousands of Utah fans cheered around them.

Ausar, the junior forward, showcased his joy with a bright smile. And Smith finally exhaled, as the Runnin’ Utes captured their third-straight victory in Big 12 conference play with an overtime 73-72 win over in-state rival BYU.

Ausar led all scorers with a career-high 26 points against the Cougars on Saturday night, with 24 of them coming in the second half and overtime. The Atlanta, Georgia, native bullied his way to basket after basket, bumping and bruising BYU’s bigs in the paint to lead Utah to the win.

He finished 11 of 15 from the field and grabbed six rebounds, too.

But Ausar’s performance meant something beyond the stat sheet. He recently went home to mourn the death of a family member. And, naturally, he’s dealt with the emotions of grieving.

“It was just really counting on myself,” Ausar said. “To me, it was just confidence. I’ve just been kind of fighting my own emotions and feelings, and the best just came out. And I feel like I’ve still got more to go, so I’m just proud of the performance, and I’m going to take it in and let it marinate.”

Ausar let it all out in the locker room. Tears welled in his eyes, as he embraced his jovial teammates and coaches. Even if he wanted to hide it, he couldn’t.

Neither could his head coach at the podium. When asked to reflect on his and Ausar’s embrace at the end of Utah’s win, Smith let out a deep breath and rubbed his hands together for a few seconds. His voice trembled once he spoke into the microphone.

“I love that man,” Smith said, as he kept himself from crying.

“I don’t know what got into him, but it needs to happen all the time,” the coach continued. “He’s just a really amazing person. I’ve met a lot of people in my life. I’m not sure I met anybody exactly like Ezra, and that’s a real compliment. Amazing family. You know, he’s been kind of in and out of some things. … He went home for a death in the family and since then he’s had a different look to him. I think he had a lot more purpose.”

Hours before Utah’s pivotal game against the Cougars, Ausar’s mother, Kimya, texted Smith “good luck” before the rivalry contest in Salt Lake City. She doesn’t usually do that, but it was a special occasion.

She also gave Utah’s head coach some advice to pass along to her son.

“Tell Ezra to get to the offensive boards.”

Little did she know, Ausar would do much more than that. Just ask BYU head coach Kevin Young.

“Ausar was a beast in there,” Young said. “We had a hard time with him.”

Smith added: “He had a great look to him tonight, and I think he’s learning how to really compete. He’s got to keep doing this.”

Where Ausar has shined on the court, he’s made even more of an impact off of it.

Smith describes the junior forward as a “connector,” a player who builds his teammates up and wants to improve each day.

Someone who wants to learn how to win.

Utah’s head coach knew he’d have that impact when he started recruiting Ausar in the transfer portal.

“We have a special connection, and it really started in the recruiting process,” Smith said. “We were talking essentially every day [on FaceTime]. Like, I don’t even FaceTime my family. I didn’t even know what it was, but now with Ezra, it’s like every time it’s a FaceTime call. So he taught me a lesson on that. I started FaceTiming my kids.”

Ausar’s role as a connector could be seen as he approached the podium to speak with reporters after the game. He wore a whiteTt-shirt displaying a picture of teammates Gabe and Mason Madsen tucked into his light-blue jeans.

He said his career-high performance was for former BYU players Hunter Erickson and Caleb Lohner.

“My teammates always count on me,” Ausar said. “They get on me all practice and all week long to stay dominant. … I know that is Hunter and Caleb’s old school, so that was a big win to me. I know that’s their beef.”

While Utah enjoys its win over its biggest rival, Ausar’s production will be needed moving forward.

The Big 12 is one of the best conferences in the country, and the Utes have tough matchups against No. 10 Houston and No. 25 Baylor on the horizon.

There will likely be more highs and lows in 2025. That’s just the reality of Utah’s new conference.

But, at this moment, Ausar is responsible for helping turn Utah’s season around. The Runnin’ Utes are .500 in the conference, and they now have a fighter’s chance to make the NCAA Tournament if they continue their momentum.

That wouldn’t be possible without Ausar’s presence.

“It’s a raw emotion,” Smith said. “It’s hard to replicate it. You can’t explain it. I’m just so happy for him and so happy for these guys for how they’ve responded the last 10 days and two weeks, really.

“Ezra’s best basketball is yet to come. … He’s a special young man.”

In the beginning … there was a thud. It was an unwanted sound, and one that resonated around the world.

Think back over 20 years ago to Sept. 8, 2004. That’s when NASA’s Genesis sample return capsule slammed into an isolated part of the U.S. Army’s Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. It was an unintended, full-stop, smashing occasion. Held tight within that canister were delicate wafers that were prized samples of atoms and ions, gathered up from wisps of solar wind accumulated over hundreds of days by the Genesis spacecraft as it loitered at Lagrange Point 1, a select spot in space between Earth and the sun. The capsule met the Utah desert at an estimated speed of 193 miles per hour (311 kilometers per hour). On impact, those wafers were shattered to bits.

It was another heartbreaker for Kevin Young’s Cougars.

In the program’s first conference clash against Utah since 2011, BYU suffered a 73-72 overtime loss to the Runnin’ Utes Saturday night in Salt Lake City.

3 takeaways

Once again, BYU fell short both on the road and late in the second half. The Cougars have yet to win in a true road setting this season, and if they can’t do it 45 miles away from the Marriott Center and with a few thousand of their own fans in the building, it’s hard to imagine when they’ll finally find success as a visitor in the Big 12.

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BYU has now led at halftime in each of the past four contests, yet the Cougars are just 1-3 over the same stretch.

Even after the Utes missed 15 free throws on the night, and with their best player, Gabe Madsen, managing just eight points on 2-12 shooting, they still won.

BYU struggled to execute in overtime, and a number of self-inflicted wounds — namely, a Trevin Knell missed free throw with six seconds remaining that would have tied the score — ultimately buried the Cougars.

Hunter Erickson played hero. Losing to your rival is hard enough. For BYU, letting a former Cougar come alive late and make a big difference in the game has to sting much more.

Erickson played two years at BYU before eventually winding up in Salt Lake City, where he’ll now forever be remembered for his efforts in vanquishing his former teammates.

He outscored his season average of 4.4 points solely in overtime, posting six points from a clutch game-tying 3-pointer and three made free throws — all the more valuable in a game where Utah missed 15 shots from the charity stripe — which ended up being the winning difference.

Additionally, Ezra Ausar exploded for a season-high 26 points, while Lawson Lovering added 13 points, seven boards and four assists.

On the flip side, BYU didn’t get much aside from a combined 32 points from Richie Saunders and Fousseyni Traore, shooting 38.5% from the field, 26.7% from deep and 40% from the free throw line.

It’s great to have this rivalry back in the same conference. Neither BYU nor Utah will compete for the Big 12 crown this year, but Saturday’s matchup had all the feel of a high-stakes March affair.

The contest was tight, tense and dramatic from start to finish. The Huntsman Center was electric. No matter what side you rooted for, what more could you want in a basketball game?

The Cougars and Runnin’ Utes are always juiced up when they meet on the hardwood, but competing in the same league — and matching up twice per season — adds even more to the rivalry.

What a treat to get a rematch between these two squads seven weeks from now in Provo.