Little Cottonwood causes traffic issues Tuesday morning
Jan 22, 2019, 5:48 AM | Updated: 9:03 am
Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
LITTLE COTTONWOOD CANYON — Monday’s huge snowstorm is now over, but the trouble remains.
An avalanche spilled onto part of SR 210 in the White Pine area of Little Cottonwood Canyon which closed the canyon for much of Monday and forced interlodge restrictions for Snowbird and Alta.
UDOT expects the canyon to remain closed through at least 8 AM Tuesday.
Little Cottonwood Canyon still closed this morning. Supposed to open up by 8am.🤞🏽🙏 Resorts have been in interlodge mode since last night and nobody able to go up or down the canyon after natural avalanche and avalanche dangers.😳 pic.twitter.com/55Bj2fSy3U
— Felicia Martinez (@FeliciaNews) January 22, 2019
Alta even tweeted that they arrested people who violated the interlodge by going outside.
Interlodge violations carry a potential $1000 fine and jail time. We’re serious about this folks. LIVES CAN BE LOST. We have arrested nine individuals this week including today.
— Alta Central (@AltaCentral) January 22, 2019
In the evening the road briefly reopened and some people got to drive out of the canyon. But others had to stay in the ski resorts overnight.
It came after a day of widespread snow also closed Parleys Canyon, canceled MLK events, and caused delays for some Salt Lake City flights. UHP reported 209 crashes.
After crews worked through the night the Canyon re-opened ahead of the 8:00 am estimate.
Little Cottonwood Canyon now open to traffic & we’re watching traffic going to the resorts again. Checking to see if any restrictions (chains/4WD) are still in effect.
— KSL Traffic Center (@KSLTraffic) January 22, 2019
KSL meteorologists say Tooele saw 11 inches of snow and West Jordan got 8 during Monday’s storm. Salt Lake City received 4 inches. But the east benches got anything from 7 to 11 inches.
The Utah Ski Snow Report on Tuesday morning said that in 24 hours, Alta and Snowbird got 24 inches of snow each. Solitude had 21, Brighton 20, Eagle Point 20, Park City Mountain 19, Brian Head 15, Deer Valley 12, Sundance 11, Powder Mountain 8, Nordic Valley 5, and Beaver Mountain 1.
