© 2024 KPCW

KPCW
Spencer F. Eccles Broadcast Center
PO Box 1372 | 460 Swede Alley
Park City | UT | 84060
Office: (435) 649-9004 | Studio: (435) 655-8255

Music & Artist Inquiries: music@kpcw.org
News Tips & Press Releases: news@kpcw.org
Volunteer Opportunities
General Inquiries: info@kpcw.org
Listen Like a Local Park City & Heber City Summit & Wasatch counties, Utah
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Persistent weak layer triggers avalanches along Park City ridgeline

The crown face on the Rhino Bowl avalanche was 2-6' deep with an average depth of 4'. "This would have been an unsurvivable avalanche," the Utah Avalanche Center said in its report.
Utah Avalanche Center
The crown face on the Rhino Bowl avalanche was 2-6' deep with an average depth of 4'. "This would have been an unsurvivable avalanche," the Utah Avalanche Center said in its report.

A 300-foot wide avalanche occurred in Rhino Bowl late Saturday and ran vertically about 500 feet. The area is within Park City Mountain resort boundaries, but it has not yet opened to the public this season and is backcountry terrain.

The Utah Department of Public Safety did a flyby of the area following the avalanche, and in conjunction with Park City Ski Patrol, determined there was no one involved.

Summit County Sheriff Justin Martinez said search and rescue was also called in to look for anyone affected.

“We did a cursory beacon search, there was nothing there,” Martinez said. “We had no reports of anybody not coming off the mountain. We’re pretty sure no one was caught in it.”

According to a report from the Utah Avalanche Center (UAC), there was no identifiable trigger; however, there were snowmobile tracks on the ridgetop adjacent to the slide.

“What this tells us is that the weak layer is elevated off of the ground,” the UAC report said. “What this means for us as backcountry travelers is that the potential for much larger avalanches could be more prevalent this season.”

The UAC said the avalanche shows that the snowpack’s persistent weak layer is elevated off the ground, and that much larger avalanches could be more prevalent this season.

Observing the aftermath of the Rhino Bowl avalanche on Sunday.
Utah Avalanche Center
Observing the aftermath of the Rhino Bowl avalanche on Sunday.

“So back in November we had about 16 days of clear and cold weather, and what that did was make our snow surface very weak and fragile," said Trent Meisenheimer, a forecaster with the UAC.

"And then on the 27th of November — about a week ago — we had some new snow and strong southerly winds, that brought us our slab. And really for an avalanche, we need a weak layer, we need a slab of snow — now we’ve got it and that’s what we’re seeing. We’re seeing avalanches break one to four feet deep and hundreds of feet wide."

Meisenheimer said that once people exit resort boundaries, they’re entering considerable avalanche danger.

"These are the types that you do not want to be caught in," he said. "They’re definitely season ender or worse type of avalanches.”

Meisenheimer said that if people find themselves in sketchy situations, the best thing they can do is back off.

Sheriff Martinez said he is particularly worried about those in the backcountry of the Uinta Mountains. He said it's crucial that skiers don’t go out alone, and that they tell others where they’re headed.

“You can have an avalanche bag, a beacon, a shovel, a probe — but if you don’t know how to use it, it’s not going to do you or anybody else any good," Martinez said.

"I would recommend if you’re going to get in the backcountry and enjoy this powder, take the time to get the training. I mean we spend I don’t know how much money on our skis and jackets and all of our equipment… take a little bit of time to spend a couple hundred dollars and learn how to use that equipment.”

People reported several other avalanches in backcountry areas just outside of Park City resort boundaries this weekend. There were no reported injuries.