No injuries after natural avalanche in Little Cottonwood forces Alta, Snowbird back into interlodge

LITTLE COTTONWOOD CANYON, Utah — Both Alta Ski Area and Snowbird Ski Resort returned to interlodge Thursday after a natural avalanche occurred in Little Cottonwood Canyon. No one was injured or buried in the slide.

“Snowbird teams have completed a full search of the incident site and have confirmed that no guests or employees were caught in the debris caused by an avalanche that was triggered outside of Snowbird’s boundaries,” a tweet stated.

The slide started on the south-facing, lower section of Mount Superior outside of Snowbird’s boundaries and crossed state Route 210 before coming onto the western edge of the Chickadee Trail, Snowbird spokesperson Sarah Sherman said.

“The Chickadee lift and trail were open at the time of the avalanche,” Snowbird officials said in a statement. “We are taking every measure possible to confirm that no guests or employees were impacted, including the use of Avalanche Rescue Dogs, RECCO technology and a probe line.”

Footage from Chopper 5 showed lines of ski patrollers and rescue dogs in the area of the slide.

The town of Alta’s marshal tweeted that no vehicles were allowed on the highway as of 12:45 p.m. The road has been closed between the mouth of the canyon and the resorts for avalanche mitigation and cleanup work since Monday. The Utah Department of Transportation said S.R. 210 was also closed in all directions at milepost 10, near the entrance to Snowbird.

Interlodge orders were temporarily lifted earlier Thursday, and guests were allowed on the mountain.