There is still plenty of snow in the Park City area, and not just at the mountain resorts.
With May approaching, much of the extraordinary snowpack of the winter remains intact at the upper elevations and even into the lower elevations of the community. As the snow continues to melt, prompting concern about flooding, there continues to be the threat of another sort of natural disaster: avalanches.
Longer days and milder weather can draw people to areas that are popular with hikers and bicyclists in the summer and fall, but, as of now, still hold snow. Empire Canyon is one such place. The canyon rises just south of Old Town and attracts people all year with its easy access at the southern end of Daly Avenue and scenic trails.
But the canyon, often called Daly Canyon, narrows quickly as the route proceeds uphill. An avalanche on one of the canyon’s steep walls could run hundreds of feet vertically.
City Hall and the Utah Avalanche Center in recent winters have posted a sign at the Daly Avenue entry to the canyon warning of the danger of snow slides. The sign notes that “Many areas beyond this sign are avalanche terrain” and that someone is responsible for their own safety. It also encourages someone to “learn and know how to recognize avalanche terrain.” The lower part of the sign remained buried in snow in the middle of the week but appeared to refer to the use of a probe, a key tool used in rescues, in the event of an avalanche.
The Utah Avalanche Center, which provides forecasts and safety information, late in the work week rated the danger as moderate in the area that includes Park City. The same rating applied to the Uinta Mountains east of Park City.
The National Weather Service on Friday forecast the possibility of snow showers on Saturday with the possibility of more snow early in the workweek. The snow is not expected to accumulate significantly, but the temperatures have the potential to temporarily slow the melting process in Park City.
An avalanche fatality occurred in Empire Canyon nearly 20 years ago. A 34-year-old Texas man perished in the 2004 slide, which took place approximately 1 mile south of the last house on Daly Avenue. Another man with the victim survived after becoming stuck in snow up to his hips.
The Utah Avalanche Center offers a broad range of information online about the slide danger and avalanche observations. There had not been an avalanche reported in the Park City-area mountains in recent days as of Friday morning, but there was one on April 17 in nearby Big Cottonwood Canyon.
More information, including forecasts and safety tutorials, is online at utahavalanchecenter.org.