The area of Snow Bird that I recently reviewed has claimed the life of a young woman. The Post Chronicle reports that she died Sunday evening after being stuck in the snow for an hour:

The incident occurred Sunday afternoon at the Utah Snowbird ski resort in the Eye of the Needle area, halfway down the mountain. Heather Gross was skiing when an avalanche buried her, concealing her from rescue for nearly an hour before her death later that evening.

The Salt Lake Tribute explains more about the victim, the time (12:30pm) and conditions:

“Heather is skiing freshness for the next mannny [sic] days,” she wrote on her Facebook page Thursday.

That’s mannny as in one more day than manny (the n works as a multiplier on Facebook updates). Had the snow been more fresh, she might have written freshnessss.

The SLTrib provides a thorough report, but I find the risk management explanation by Bruce Tremper, director of the Utah Avalanche Center, a bit curious:

Early winter brings some of the most dangerous conditions for avalanches in the backcountry, Tremper said. First, people are not used to paying attention to risks until they experience a “wake-up call” each year.

Second, he said, heavy early snows fall on a weak underlying layer.

“We have windblown snow and new snow on top of it,” Tremper said. “Kind of like putting a brick on potato chips.”

Ok, I admit I don’t get it. Brick on potato chips? If you eat potato chips a brick falls on your head? Don’t ski when you see bricks sitting on chips? Is that easy to recognize?