A.I. and Drones Will Reshape How Search and Rescue Operations are Conducted in the Future The use of drones and artificial intelligence at ski resorts will likely grow in the future, eventually becoming an integral part of the ski industry. Belleayre Mountain, located in New York, is a ski resort that has already begun using A.I. and drones to help keep guests as safe as possible on the mountain. The resort launched its A.I. Ski […] Industry News Gregg Frantz | September 9, 2025 0 Comments
Canada Approves Drone Based Avalanche Mitigation Technology For nearly 80 years, avalanche crews in Canada have relied on risky and expensive methods to keep mountain slopes safe. These include firing World War II artillery, dropping explosives from helicopters, and sending technicians into dangerous terrain. While effective, these approaches put people at risk and cost a lot to run. A Canadian drone company, AVSS, believes it has a […] Avalanche Brent Glogau | August 13, 2025 1 Comment
How the Fatal GS Bowl Avalanche at Palisades Tahoe, CA, Happened and Why it Could Happen Again On January 10, 2024, around 9:30 a.m., a massive avalanche occurred in the GS Bowl off the KT-22 chairlift at Palisades Tahoe, California. A search of the debris pile, estimated at 10 feet deep in some places, was conducted by over 100 people, including ski patrollers, resort employees, and members of the public. This tragic accident resulted in one fatality […] Avalanche Zach Armstrong | May 16, 2024 1 Comment
Little Cottonwood Canyon, UT, Opening Times for April 8, 2023 Based on highly unusual weather and avalanche activity above State Route 210 at Little Cottonwood Canyon, UT, Utah Department of Transportation (‘UDOT’) is advising that the road will open on Saturday, April 8, 2023, for Downhill traffic from 5 a.m. – 9 a.m. and for Uphill traffic from 7 a.m. – 9 a.m. only. Parking at Snowbird and Alta remains available, but […] Industry News Julia Schneemann | April 8, 2023 0 Comments
The Annual Issue at Hand for Utah’s Little Cottonwood Canyon: Avalanches Utah’s Little Cottonwood canyon, Highway 210, is the way to two of the state’s renowned ski resorts: Alta and Snowbird. These slopes are truly among the West’s shining gems, consisting of that perfect light and dry Utah powder. However, getting to the powder is a potentially treacherous journey. Little Cottonwood Canyon is prone to one of the highest amounts of […] Avalanche Riley McDonald | January 17, 2023 1 Comment
British Columbia Closes Large Backcountry Skiing Area Due to Uncompliant Skiers Glacier National Park in British Columbia, Canada, was forced to close an entire backcountry skiing area because skiers failed to stay out of avalanche mitigation areas. On December 1st, skiers entered the closed MacDonald West area. This area was closed due to avalanche mitigation concerns. To ski in Glacier National Park, one must obtain a winter permit. This permit requires […] Industry News Riley McDonald | December 14, 2022 0 Comments
Aliens at Alta? Nope, Just the Latest Avalanche Mitigation Technology With an average of 540 inches of the best snow on earth every year, Alta Ski Area constantly has avalanche mitigation on its mind. Now they are adopting the latest technology in avalanche safety and prevention. Alien-looking pods, called O’Bellx, are being installed on the mountain to be integrated into Alta’s network of avalanche control systems. They are a new […] Avalanche Brent Glogau | July 22, 2022 2 Comments
That One Time a Utah Department of Transportation Avalanche Cannon Misfired and Blew Up a Family’s House 3 Miles Away In March 2005, Lori and Scott Connors’ 3-year-old son was lying on their living room floor watching television when a mortar exploded in their backyard. Deadly flying shrapnel penetrated their home and flew right over his little head. He was covered in broken glass and extremely frightened—had he been standing up it would have been a completely different story. There […] Martin Kuprianowicz | July 8, 2022 3 Comments
Lake Tahoe Ski Resort Facing Lawsuit After Skier is Killed By Avalanche Cole Comstock, 34, of California, was killed by an avalanche on January 17, 2020, on an Alpine Meadows ski run around 10:16 in the morning. His close friend, Kaley Bloom, was also swept by the avalanche and received serious injuries but somehow survived. Comstock was an experienced skier who skied both in-bound and out-bound areas of the resort depending on conditions. […] Avalanche Nick Retterer | February 26, 2021 9 Comments
Colorado Is Experiencing Once-In-A-Decade Snowpack And High Avalanche Risk Colorado is currently experiencing a once-in-a-decade snowpack making conditions in the backcountry extremely dangerous. Conditions haven’t been this bad in Colorado since 2012, and the poor snowpack has caused over 15 deaths in the first week of February. This has been the deadliest week on record since 1910, with eight deaths being Coloradans. These conditions are seen once every 10 years, […] Avalanche Nick Retterer | February 18, 2021 2 Comments
Origins: U.S. Avalanche Mitigation In this week’s edition of Origins, we will take a look into the history of how avalanches have been avoided in and out of ski resorts. If you missed last week’s Origins on the Freeride World Tour you can check it out here: Related: Origins: Freeride World Tour Avalanches are extremely dangerous and fatal events. Avoiding them at all costs is […] Avalanche Ryan Flynn | October 9, 2020 1 Comment
Using Reforestation for Avalanche Mitigation: Does it Work? A new study suggests that strategic reforestation may help to mitigate avalanches in certain areas. SLAB Laboratory, based in Vaud Canton of Switzerland, studies the physics of avalanches using computer-generated models fed with historic avalanche data. Researchers were interested to see how wildfires in 2018 affected the winter avalanche cycles in the mountains around Vaud. Related: Lake Tahoe Tree Deaths Double […] Avalanche Alex Camerino | August 28, 2020 5 Comments
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