Published February 5, 2021 at 6:15 PM MST Listen • 4:30
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Park City Mountain Resort has closed its backcountry gates. That comes after two people died in avalanches outside the skiing boundaries near Park City ridgeline. This story and more in Friday evening s news brief.
Friday evening, February 5, 2021
State
Utah House Approves Bill To Encourage Innovation
The Utah House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill Friday aimed at encouraging innovation. The legislation would create a program to temporarily waive regulations on companies bringing a new and transformative product or service to the market. Companies would have to apply to the newly created program and they could operate without those regulations for a maximum of two years. The bill still needs Senate approval.
Kimball Junction
In February of 2010, I visited Crested Butte for the first time. Not knowing the mountain, nor being a very strong skier, I found myself about 10 feet below a mandatory traverse skirting around a 30-foot cliff band. In an instant I was summersaulting. I waited for the lights to go out, but when I opened my eyes, I didn’t have a scratch. I later found out the run was named Body Bag. Skiing is dangerous, whether on a green circle with out-of-control skier’s flying by my 7-year-old or venturing into the backcountry.
On Tuesday, Park City Mountain Resort shut all backcountry gates. From my understanding, PCMR is under no obligation to allow public access to U.S. Forest Service lands. The backcountry gates are a luxury, although they feel like a necessity for me as I buy an Epic Pass for two specific reasons: to take my 7-year-old son skiing and to access the backcountry via the gates.
Avalanche Fatality Reported Outside Boundaries of Utah’s Park City Mountain Resort
This photo of the Square Top area was taken on the morning of Sunday, January 31, following avalanche control work to help rescuers safely enter the zone. Courtesy Utah Avalanche Center
On Saturday, January 30, 57-year-old Kurt Damschroder of Park City, Utah, was caught and killed in an avalanche beyond Utah’s Park City Mountain Resort. This is Utah’s second avalanche fatality of the season, the first of which occurred on an adjacent ridge on January 8.
According to a statement made by the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, Damschroder and a partner were traveling through the Square Top area beyond Park City Mountain Resort’s boundaries when they triggered the avalanche. Both individuals were carrying avalanche rescue gear, and while Damschroder’s partner was able to unbury the snowboarder and attempt live-saving measures, the friend was forced to descend due to “extreme avalanche danger
Explosives deployed from the sky help avalanche rescuers on the ground
As search and rescue crews worked on an avalanche recovery mission Sunday in Summit County, experts worked to ensure the safety of rescuers working on the ground in unforgiving backcountry territory.
and last updated 2021-02-01 23:55:55-05
SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah â As search and rescue crews worked on an
avalanche recovery mission Sunday in Summit County, experts worked to ensure the safety of rescuers working on the ground in unforgiving backcountry territory.
Those with the Utah Avalanche Center, Summit County Sheriffâs Office and Park City Mountain Resort Ski Patrol worked with Utah Department of Public Safety to conduct avalanche mitigation in order for rescuers to reach the skier who was buried the day before.