SAM Magazine-Jackson Hole, Wyo., Dec. 30, 2008-Routine avalanche control work at Jackson Hole on the resort's Headwall area triggered a substantial avalanche, which damaged the resort's Bridger Restaurant and forced the closure of the ski area's upper lifts. The slide, which occurred at approximately 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 29, was triggered by patrollers during routine control work on Headwall. The slope, which has a southwest aspect and consists of steep, expert-only terrain, had not opened to the public and had not been expected to open in the near future.

According to the resort, "the slide descended from the top of the Headwall, and a second slide was triggered, which continued down to the base of the run, reaching the west and south sides of the building that houses three resort restaurants, causing considerable non-structural damage to the building."

The incident occurred prior to any members of the general public being on or near the scene, and all Jackson Hole staff were accounted for within 30 minutes after the avalanche.

The slide resulted in mountain operations closing the upper part of the ski resort to do additional avalanche mitigation. In addition, the resort has taken the unprecedented steps of closing the ski area's backcountry access gates. The gates will remain closed until further notice.

"Our patrollers have done a phenomenal job showing the utmost professionalism and teamwork. I am extremely proud of their efforts and appreciate the risks they take on a daily basis. I also want to acknowledge our entire staff under these challenging circumstances," says Jerry Blann, President, JHMR.

The most recent slide comes on the heels of two other in-bounds avalanches at Jackson Hole that occurred on terrain open to the public, one of which claimed the life of a 31 year-old local skier. The area has received 62 inches of snow in past seven days.

This has been a severe avalanche season across much of the West. Several backcountry visitors were killed in an avalanche in British Columbia in the past few days, and in-bounds avalanches have hit areas in Colorado and Utah as well. Vail's Blue Sky Basin was the site of two separate incidents in mid-December. The most recent one there, Dec. 17, occurred on terrain that was closed at the time due to avalanche danger. Prior to that, an inbounds avalanche at Snowbird took the life of one person (see earlier Breaking News report).

Many of the avalanches stem from a snowpack made unstable by a rain event in late November, followed by heavy snowfall throughout December. \