LITTLE COTTONWOOD CANYON, Utah — A skier set off an avalanche in Little Cottonwood Canyon on Monday. No one was hurt and the avalanche was relatively small, but it’s still a message of caution for people on the slopes.
“He goes, 'Hey, you’re going to need to take a different route, I set off an avalanche.' I said, 'Oh, geez, is it a big one?' And he’s like, 'No, I almost got caught in it but I skied right off,'” explained Colton Holmes. His dad was the one who set off the avalanche, but thankfully no one was hurt.
Holmes said his dad is an experienced backcountry skier, so he was aware of the conditions and was no stranger to the terrain. The avalanche was about one foot deep and 100 feet wide.
“This gentleman, he’s quick on his feet and veers off the moving piece of snow,” explained Craig Gordon with the Utah Avalanche Center. “That’s the good news, and this could have ended in a much different case.”
Gordon said being aware of weather and avalanche conditions is crucial when you’re on the slopes.
“Right after the storm, given all of the conditions that came together, things were definitely touchy. Over the weekend, we saw over two dozen unintentionally human-triggered avalanches, so everything was at a big spike when it was snowing, when it was blowing,” he said.
The area where the slide happened is called the Flagstaff area, right across from the Alta lodge.
Gordon advised that if you are backcountry skiing in an area close to resorts and set off an avalanche, you should let ski patrol know so they can help, or just know that everyone is okay.
“Even a small avalanche can push us into a group of trees, carry us over a cliff and instantly ruin our day. So we’ve got to match the terrain of our choice with what the avalanche hazard is,” said Gordon.
“Know what you’re doing or be with someone who does, check the avalanche report, bring bags, bring beacons, just be safe about it because that could have gone a lot worse than it did, obviously,” said Holmes.
