Park City Mountain installs first remote avalanche control system in Wasatch Back
A new remote avalanche control system at Limelight Bowl could help Park City Mountain open Quicksilver gondola sooner on powder days while keeping patrol out of exposed terrain.
Park City Mountain installed its first remote avalanche control system in the Wasatch Back on June 26, with crews placing towers and detonation chambers near the top of Limelight Bowl on the Canyons Village side of the resort. A helicopter delivered the system’s infrastructure, and Alpine Infrastructure crews handled the installation work on terrain above the Quicksilver gondola.
The setup is designed to let ski patrol trigger a controlled slide remotely west of the Quicksilver gondola, cutting the need for patrollers to travel into steep, exposed avalanche terrain during mitigation. Snow safety manager Toph White said the system will make avalanche management safer by keeping staff out of the Pinecone Ridge exposure area, where avalanche work has long been part of opening the mountain after storms.
The new system helps the Quicksilver gondola open sooner on powder days for a resort that markets more than 7,300 skiable acres and depends on quick terrain access to keep guest demand moving. Avalanche mitigation is part of normal mountain operations, alongside lift operations, grooming and preparation of transportation corridors. Storm winds can delay lift openings because patrol must complete avalanche and safety work before terrain can open.
Remote avalanche control is not new in Utah, but this is the first system of its kind in the Park City area. Alta Ski Area already uses remote devices, and its artillery-based avalanche control era is being retired after 75 years. Farther south in Little Cottonwood Canyon, the U.S. Forest Service records Wyssen Tower proposals for Snowbird and Mt. Superior.
Utah Avalanche Center records tie Limelight Bowl and Pinecone Ridge to avalanche activity, including a Limelight Bowl record at 8,900 feet on an east aspect with a 35-degree slope angle, and another from Jan. 22, 2012, describing a natural hard-slab avalanche at 9,000 feet on a northeast aspect.
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