Fatal Avalanches Rattle Ski Country in the West

Whistler Blackcomb resort in British Columbia has stationed guards at the top of some areas to prevent skiers and snowboarders from entering hazardous terrain. Grouse Mountain resort, in North Vancouver, has suggested that government action may be needed to deter skiers and snowboarders from using off-limit areas. And Jackson Hole in Wyoming has already burned through nearly half of this year’s budget for avalanche hazard reduction work, one month into the season.

Resorts throughout the western United States and Canada are struggling with avalanche hazards as weather patterns have created uncommonly widespread conditions of instability, wreaking havoc on mountains crowded with skiers of all levels at the start of ski season. Last week, avalanches at Whistler Blackcomb killed a snowboarder and a skier on terrain outside the resort’s boundaries. On Wednesday morning, a controlled slide ran past Jackson Hole’s $10 million Bridger Restaurant — already damaged by a recent avalanche — while the mountain was closed to the public.

Avalanche forecasters anticipate that hazardous conditions could persist well into the season throughout the backcountry in the Rockies, the Pacific Northwest and the Tetons. The Teton County Sheriff’s Department reminded the public last week — for the first time in its 17-year history — that search and rescue may be significantly delayed or unable to respond to backcountry incidents because of heightened avalanche hazards.