13 May 2008 - Two Lucky Skiers

Last Friday we had another late snow storm which dropped about 6-8" of snow at our house. By Sunday, most of the snow had disappeared from our yard and the temperature was around 60. During this time of the year and just after a late snow storm is when some locals hike (snowshoe) to the top of our mountains and take advantage of the new fresh snow.

About 2:30PM on Sunday, I looked across the valley at Red Mountain and thought I could see where some people had skied down the mountain. Once I got out our binoculars, I could see where people had hiked to the top and could see the perfect zipper turns as they descended down the mountain. I then noticed that an avalanche had occurred in a very steep area. I got my camera with a zoom lens and took several photos of the mountain and the avalanche area. I uploaded them on to my computer where I could further zoom in and was able to determine that two people had entered this steep chute on the top.

If you click on the photo you should be able to view a larger image where you can see that one person apparently started the avalanche and was able to ski out of it at the bottom right. The other person must have waited at the top until the avalanche stopped and then skied down the left side to the bottom of the avalanche area. Local mountains skiing is very extreme and there is also danger of starting an avalanche. There are two very lucky Summit County Skier that made it out alive.

Below are the other photos I took of Sunday's Red Mountain Skiing Activities. Click on each image bring up the larger image where you can see the tracks on the mountain.