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John Daley ReportingIf you were up in the canyon last night, you had to stay there; and if you were trying to get up to ski this morning, you were out of luck for a while.
It was quite a day up the canyon as thousands of people were stranded, waiting for the road to reopen. That happened about 12:30 this afternoon. All morning, traffic was backed up in both directions as skiers and employees tried to make their way up or down the canyon.
The trouble was, at least three avalanches hit the road and needed to be cleared before the canyon could open.
Snowbird Employee: "We slept on the floor in our offices, so all of our rooms were booked by conferences that are up there. So, you take the floor, let the guests have the rooms."
Winston Gamble, Alta Ski School Employee: "Driving down, there's some big slides on the road. There's some really big slides that almost hit the road. There's still a lot of snow that's hanging up there, and I understand you don't wanna hurt anybody. It's not worth somebody dying just to get down quicker."
Luke Price, Skier: "I drove halfway down the canyon and my car broke down. They drove me back to the top. And then, we got stuck up there for the rest of the night. Without my skis, so I couldn't go skiing this morning."
Snowboarder: "I mean, they gave us an open room with some carpet and some tablecloths for blankets, and some pillows without pillowcases. It was bad."
In the end, it did turn out to be a spectacular day of skiing for those who braved the traffic jam.
Also, yesterday evening, an SUV carrying nine people was swept off the road, down 150 feet. The family of seven plus to Alta workers had to kick out the windows to get out. Today, the SUV was absolutely filled with snow as it was towed out.
