SALT LAKE CITY — Search and rescue crews found no one trapped in the debris of an avalanche that fell just outside the Snowbird ski area in Little Cottonwood Canyon on Thursday afternoon.
The avalanche slid down near the Chickadee trail, sending ski patrol to search the area using dogs, rescue technology and probes. Following the search, Snowbird said no guests or employees were caught.
Video below shows avalanche scene in Little Cottonwood Canyon (@_neslo):
Mike Lanahan was outside at Snowbird and says he heard a muffled rumble.
"That thing just happened right here and it was about two or three minutes later, the people started running around telling everyone to go," said Lanahan. "I couldn't tell how far it came down, I could see it came down as far as the road."
Snowbird confirmed the slide, saying the naturally occurring avalanche happened at 12:30 p.m. and started on the south-facing, lower section of Mt. Superior, which is outside of the resort.
The slide then ran across State Route 210 onto the western edge of Snowbird's Chickadee trail.
"Our mountain operations team, ski patrol mountain ops, are responding to the site, so we had employees out there doing a probe line to search the snow," said Sarah Sherman, Communications Manager for Snowbird.
Sherman says they had avalanche dogs on site, as well as, using RECCO rescue technology to search for anybody who may have been buried.
"This incident took place at about 12:30 PM and we got the final clearance to share that they were confident nobody had been caught in there at 3:24," said Sherman. "We're really proud of the way that our teams responded quickly and thoroughly."
The avalanche occurred after a few hours after the resort had lifted interlodge protocols. Guests and employees were asked to make their way to the nearest building as soon as possible.
Snowbird confirmed the slide, saying the naturally-occurring avalanche happened at 12:30 p.m. and started on the south-facing, lower section of Mt. Superior, which is outside of the resort.
Photo below shows crews searching for possible skiers near Snowbird (@TehraniSea22260)
The slide then ran across State Route 210 onto the western edge of Snowbird's Chickadee trail.
The trail and lift were open at the time of the avalanche and ski patrol used avalanche rescue dogs, RECCO rescue technology and probes to search for anybody who may have been buried.
"We estimate about 1,500 people that's including guests as well as all of our employees," said Sherman.
The Town of Alta was also placed under interlodge again hours after orders were briefly lifted.
In Little Cottonwood Canyon, crews are still working to manage the enormous amount of snow that blanketed the area.
The Town of Alta, Snowbird Village and surrounding areas were all placed under interlodge orders starting Monday as more than five feet of snow fell, creating dangerous avalanche conditions.
Although the majority of State Route 210 was still closed Thursday morning, interlodge orders were briefly lifted and travel between Snowbird and Alta was allowed for a short time Thursday morning.
Both resorts in Little Cottonwood Canyon were completely closed on Tuesday and Wednesday but the resorts announced at least a few lifts would be opened Thursday as avalanche work continued.
As S.R. 210 has not been opened entirely, those who have been under interlodge and are already in the canyons will be the only ones who will be able to access Little Cottonwood Canyon ski areas.
Officials with UDOT told FOX 13 News that S.R. 210 will remain closed Thursday night.
They say it will temporarily reopen on Friday, from 5 a.m. through 9 a.m.
During that time, downhill travel will be permitted. Uphill travel will be allowed only for critical personnel and commercial food trucks for the TOA/resorts.
No time has been determined for a full road opening, according to UDOT.
Big Cottonwood Canyon reopened just before 8:30 a.m. Thursday after being closed all day on Wednesday.
About an hour after the canyon opened, Brighton and Solitude Resorts, located within Big Cottonwood Canyon, reported their parking lots were full.
