Skier Tracks Accounted For, Telski CEO Riley Asserts

Overeager skiers triggered an inbounds avalanche on Wednesday at approximately 10:30 a.m., off lift 12, after descending into Prospect Basin and up to Terminal Roll.

The slide occurred while the Telluride Ski Patrol was still conducting control work in the Prospect area, which was roped off.

According to one eyewitness account, a group that had gathered at the portal off of lift five entered Prospect despite the ropes; although it is not clear whether or not the rope was officially lifted, it is clear that several skiers entered the area prematurely, with serious consequences.

Was Prospect – and Terminal Roll, in particular – ready for skiers?

“Ready is a relative term,” said Telluride Ski and Golf Co. CEO Dave Riley, upon being asked whether or not Prospect was ready for skiing when the slide occurred.

“There are numerous areas within the permit area that may have hazards,” Riley elaborated, for which “the ski area exercises reasonable care in controlling the potential for avalanche.

“But this is not an exact science,” he emphasized, of avalanche control-work. “There is no 100 percent guarantee.”

And Terminal Roll, Riley explained, is “not a listed ski trail,” but rather “a heavily wooded area,” one of many inside the permit area.

After the slide, responders checked the area “for tracks that went in, and tracks that went out,” Riley said.

Despite ascertaining that all skiers had made it, patrollers conducted a full-court-press response, utilizing the RECCO avalanche search system as well as search-dogs, beacons and probe-lines.

“The snow is heavy and unstable right now,” Riley said, pointing out that just the day before, Spiral Stairs, in the chair 9 pod, slid from top to bottom.

But despite the less-than-optimal conditions, he said, “There are people who are disregarding our closures right now, and skiing under our ropes.

“I was up there today stopping people who were skiing right next to a closed sign.

“People need to be far more careful than they are being now,” he said, adding that in-bounds skiers tend to have “a false sense of security. They need to exercise due care inbounds as well as out-of-bounds.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, Riley said, control work was still being done, “and we hope to get Prospect open later today.

“Backcountry travel right now would be insane,” he added.