Alta Ski Area and its Ski Patrol go hand in hand. Alta is located in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, known for its steep, big-mountain terrain and eye-popping snowfall totals. This combination makes for extreme avalanche conditions that threaten not only the resort infrastructure but the access road and the entire town of Alta, Utah. Formed in 1941, two years after the ski area opened, the Alta Ski Patrol was instrumental in building the foundation of avalanche research in North America and is inarguably one of the most respected patrol units in the world. Consisting of over 80 men and women, the patrol team works early mornings and late nights in extreme weather and terrain, not only to ensure the safety of Alta guests, employees and residents but to open the terrain that makes Alta so special—they also get to sample the goods themselves.
Put together by the talented folks at Sweetgrass Productions, Alta’s Steeped in Tradition episode 6 is all about Patrol.
