Ski Patrollers Set Off Massive Avalanches During Weekend Of "Wild Weather"
This past long weekend delivered snow and wild weather to ski resorts across North America.
Of course, this was a cause worth celebrating, but it also signaled to Park City Mountain, Utah's patrol team that it was time to get to work.
Here are a few of the large avalanches the team set off as they endeavored to make the slopes safer for skiers.
Besides being entertaining to watch, this video carries an important reminder. Rope lines and closures weren't designed by ski resorts to cramp your style—they exist to keep us all safe. When you enter a closed area, you put yourself and others at risk.
"These videos and photos show the seriousness of our avalanche work," the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association (PCPSPA) wrote in the caption. "When we have closures in place, we mean it."
It's been a banner past couple of days for Park City and other ski resorts in the Salt Lake City, Utah, area, with Park City picking up 69 inches of snowfall over the last week, which, as you might expect, also increased avalanche hazards.
The Utah Avalanche Center (UAC) issued a forecast yesterday that recommended against skiing any backcountry slopes over 30 degrees (slopes steeper than 30 degrees are much more likely to avalanche). The UAC's forecasts apply to backcountry zones outside ski resorts.
To check out the avalanche situation in Utah this morning, click here.
Related: Alabama's Lone Ski Resort Will Not Open This Year
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