Cooped Up? Get Uncooped.

Photo: Joe Shlabotnik

As I made my way to the Snowbird ticket counter this past Sunday, I overheard the guy in front of me trying to return his ticket because the Tram was closed down indefinitely. At first, news was that it was due to wind, but it was quickly revealed that an in-bounds avalanche had trapped a skier. The rest of the day on the slopes was abuzz with the shattering sound of rescue helicopters overhead, news cameras and snippets of information about what was going down. At the end of the day, my wife overheard that after an intense hour-long search and rescue effort the individual trapped was recovered. It was relieving news.

The next morning, I came to find out that  the skier who was caught in the avalanche Heather Gross died in the hospital after being found unconscious and in critical condition.

The incident was a scary, all-too-sobering reminder, if not a wake-up call, that avalanche danger is not limited to backcountry skiing and riding. Quite frankly, the incident scared the shit out of me because had I gotten there a couple hours earlier, I would have very possibly been riding the Mount Baldy area where this occured. I would have been alone, with no gear whatsoever. An avalanche would probably not have been a passing thought.

In 15 years of riding I had never even considered the possibility of an avalanche within resort boundaries until I read an article in the November issue of Backcountry Magazine detailing a couple of fatal occurances last season at The Canyons and Big White. The Snowbird incident made it all too true to life.

Although very rare, avalanches inside a resort seem significantly more dangerous than in the backcountry because there's a sense of security and unpreparedness. I'm sure I'm not alone in ignorance of the possibility and I'm equally sure most skiers/riders aren't thinking about an avalanche or carrying the proper gear when sticking inside the boundary ropes.

A couple of tips:

1. Check local avalanche warnings.

2. Always ride with a partner or group.

3. Always respect trail closures and entry gates (regardless of the temptation of untouched pow)

4. Bring avalanche gear as a precaution when riding in steep, potential avalanche areas of resorts on dangerous days.

Although in-bounds avalanches are rare and injury from a collision is far more likely, a little precaution and forethought can go a long way to protect you.

• survival
• avalanche
• ski
• resorts
• in
• bounds