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SNOWBIRD — The town of Alta and Snowbird Resort each issued an interlodge order Thursday afternoon, and entry into Little Cottonwood Canyon is closed after an avalanche near Snowbird covered the roadway.
State Route 210 is expected to remain closed overnight and will open for downhill-only travel from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Friday, Snowbird managers reported.
Snowbird officials confirmed that nobody was caught up in the slide, though it ended near the resort's Chickadee lift and trailhead, which were both open at the time of the avalanche.
The natural avalanche happened on the south-facing slope of Mount Superior outside of the Snowbird boundaries, moving across S.R. 210 and ending on the resort's western edge by the Chickadee lift and trailhead, according to Snowbird spokeswoman Sarah Sherman.
The resort first issued its alert shortly before 12:45 p.m., meaning skiers and employees are confined to buildings while avalanche work is being done. Alta issued a similar alert for the entire town about 10 minutes later. S.R. 210 is also closed at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon, according to the Utah Department of Transportation.
KSL-TV's Chopper 5 captured images of crews looking to see if anyone was caught up in the large slide that covered the highway. Sherman said avalanche rescue dogs and a line of rescue workers were dispatched to the avalanche just to make sure that nobody was trapped. Resort officials determined that no guests or employees were caught up in the slide after a "full search of the incident site" that lasted nearly three hours.
Alta Ski Area issued its interlodge order after hearing from the town in relation to the Snowbird avalanche, Alta resort spokeswoman Andria Huskinson said. It's unclear how long either interlodge event will last or how long the canyon will be closed to traffic.
Both resorts reported receiving close to 5 feet of snow over the past few days, while some areas near each resort received even more, according to the National Weather Service.
The Utah Avalanche Center lists the region's mountains as being in "considerable" avalanche danger, especially any south-facing slopes like what happened with Thursday's avalanche. The agency notes that there had already been "plenty of avalanche activity this week," including in Little Cottonwood Canyon.
Alta reports receiving 877 inches of snow this season, the most it has ever received in one season. Snowbird and other resorts in both Big and Little Cottonwood canyons have also reported new all-time snowfall records. Utah's statewide snowpack reached 30 inches Thursday morning for the first time on record, too.
However, the record snow has also come with increased avalanche activity this season. UDOT officials said earlier Thursday they've had to close traffic into both canyons more than 30 times combined this season because of avalanches or avalanche mitigation efforts.
