Two avalanches at SilverStar Mountain Resort on Wednesday haven’t halted spring break festivities.
According to the Resort’s communications and sponsorship manager Chantelle Deacon, the first avalanche happened at approximately noon on the backside of the mountain known as Putnam Creek, sending a man to the hospital by air ambulance.
The avalanche was caused by a rapid decrease in temperature, said Deacon.
“This was an isothermal avalanche. It’s due to quick warming temperatures of the snow, usually at around zero degrees, this type of avalanche occurs,” said Deacon.
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She explained a second, less severe avalanche struck the front of the mountain within hours of the first.
“We had a very small avalanche on the front side of our black diamond run, which didn’t affect anyone one on the mountain,” added Deacon.
The two incidents didn’t halt any festivities planned for the weekend and the rest of spring break.
“Everything is running smoothly today. Our front side is still fully operational and going into the weekend for spring break our SEISMIC Festival starts Friday and lasts until March 31. It is going to be super busy and we have a lot of people coming out. All of our courses for the festival are on the front side of the mountain, so the back mountain being closed didn’t affect any plans,” explained Deacon.
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A visiting skier, who has spent a few months on the mountain, said he was alarmed when hearing news about the avalanche but was confident in SilverStar’s staff keeping guests safe.
“I was very surprised to hear about the avalanche. I’ve been skiing at SilverStar for many years and have never seen anything like that, but I am confident the mountain does a good job at making sure we’re all safe,” said Tom Walton.
There is no update on the man airlifted from the mountain and the Putnam Creek run remains closed until further notice.
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