An Inside Look at Avalanche Mitigation from the Alta Ski Patrol

***Loading up the big guns, literally, for avalanche control at Alta Ski Area. Image: Sweetgrass Productions/Alta Ski Area.***

Since 1941, Alta Ski Patrol has been keeping skiers safe on some of Utah’s steepest and most beautiful skiing terrain.

Their work often involves early mornings, stormy weather, and tremendous responsibility.

Eighty women and men currently serve as Alta Ski Area patrollers. On big snow days, up to 60 may be working the mountain.

This video serves up a snapshot of how they do their job, especially when it comes to avalanche mitigation and keeping visitors safe.

Alta Ski Area has been called the “birthplace of avalanche research in North America,” and avalanche mitigation techniques pioneered at Alta are used throughout the ski industry.

As Dave Richards, the Director of the Alta Avalanche Department, says in the video, “We now have fancier technology, but the concept is the same: use explosives to affect a wide area of the snowpack without exposing yourself to it personally.”

Patrollers like these work all of our resorts. And while not every ski area or resort has avalanche-prone terrain, patrollers get up early, work hard, attend to accidents and injuries and keep the mountain safe, every single winter day.

Thank you.