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Show 25 January- 7 February 1995, Wasatch Canyon — AVALANCHE CONTINUED | should be changed. In fact, Also Cottonwood Canyon. If Big | Cottonwood is where you would like to “Could we defend the sys_tem (ed note: Current avalanche avoidance and preparedness system)in court asa state of the art system.” as" stated in a report to UDOT about the need for change. have your accident, the can be long and. therefore so are the forecaster’s hours (hire more people), pay is too low to keep experienced people (raise the pay), conflict between Bill Hale and personnel (resolve it), ski areas are not informed of deci- sions in a timely fashion (develop time lines and inform ski areas ASAP). The report also strongly implies that the system > used in Little Cottonwood is not state-of-the-art and should be updated. Atelling statement appears near the end of the report, “God for- bid, but if a fatal accident involving avalanches on Highway 210 (Little Cottonwood) occurred, could we defend the system in court as a state of the art system?” . After. this incident, UDOT may just get that eaaaves ee was told by computer wizard Hardy that they estimate the locations of the accidents (“6300 E. Big Cottonwood Cyn,” “8400 E _ LTCottonwd Cyn,” et provided turned quite impossible stand by itself. that arrived two popular place (a sweeping left, if one is headed up). _ During the investigation of the avalanche on highway Solitude and down at Stairs dents/13%) and 4 (8 acciBridge (2.2 miles up the - dents/7%) have their share canyon). These locations of accidents, but even these — had 11, or 8%, of the accinumbers are puzzling. dents each. | Perhaps 2 and 4 do not Not counted in the 14] have as many mishaps are the 22 accidents hanbecause people expect dled by the Sheriff’s more traffic in and out of I miles up the canyon Department at 7000 S. those and are not as cau-. mouth of Big Cottonwood - __ Whatever the reason, be _ sure to watch yourself pass- Wasatch Boulevard - the. tious around 1 and 3. — out to be to underThe maps days later indicating that just getting into the canyons is half the changed all that. I travel Big Cottonwood _ battle. Little 210 that hit . Seth Horowitz’s car we discovered some statistics that we only about six times a month so I did not have a feel might be of interest to misconception about where ~Snowbird’s Entry 1, not Seven Sisters, is the site of the frequent or casual visitor to the Cottonwood all the accidents happen. the most twisted metal. Cottonwood is. where the real surprise was. ing entries 1 and 3. And be especially careful on Fridays and Saturdays when 38, or a whopping 35%, of all the accidents occur. And no, it may not be what you think. Of the The hot spot does not sur- Even with a generous inter- prise me, however. Of the 109 collisions, only ONE pretation of the addresses hot. ALL... ACC DENTS BY CANYONS,” 141. accidents in Big Cottonwood Canyon inves-_ for Seven sisters I am only << lovely little batch file created by David Hardy tigated by the Salt Lake. (1) resulted in a DUI arrest, but with 17 accidents listed as “hit and run” impaired. the reported accidents occurred there. Snowbird’s Patryen cl] (9500 EL. _ Canyons. _brought out a list of acci- . dents and locations whith surprising information about where they all happen. : It may just be me, but it seems that practically every of recommendations) include: be a little difficult to pin- cetera). The list Mr. Hardy time I drive up or down one — - storms Canyons it point the danger-zones. even 3 are the one’s most from — used. spots 7 Entries 2 (8 accito have accidents are up at dents/7%), 3 (14 acci- looked like it was going to deceptively sharp turn 6.6 is a not seem reachable the road.. ~The other preferred Little the Cottonwood Canyons I see the remains of an accident. I even have my own then every now and It also seems that a large proportion of the accidents in Little Cottonwood are in the Sever Sisters’ ("7 Turns” | able to claim 12, or 11%, of Sheriff’s County Department,- 20, or 14%, happened at 8000 East Big Cottonwood Canyon. That Cottonwood Canyon) was home to and incredible 15, or 14%, of 1994’s 109 Little Cottonwood Canyon accidents. What people are doing is the address that designates the turn 6.6 miles up the canyon. It is a decep- tively sharp, decreasing crashing their cars at entry radius turn. I am always startled by how sharp the turn is. Even with my limit- 1 is beyond me. For those ed trips I have seen one car so far over the bank it did -Sheriff’s Deputy Kevin Peterson, when asked about the accident situation, esti‘mated that one third of all the accidents he investi- in the side, toward “People come the cliff. in too fast, loose control in that turn, become scared and can’t save it,” he said. He also said it was all just a guess, but records are kept and to look it up. Indeed they are and I did. inevitably this should be obvious. They sit at the ends of the canyons and it takes a determined driver indeed to crash a car in the first few feet of a trip. eee fe KTALK Radio Sponsor _ $ized that they are caused the first turn (when coming down) is banked to the out- will come, the real reason for entrance. Entries 2, 4 and Seven sive speed and the fact that the jokes about being better drivers who do not know, entry | is a parking lot and service Sisters area. He hypotheby a combination of exces- | " Get Your Transmission Ready For Tough Winter Driving! -eShifting Problems? ePan leaks? eBand Adjustments? on the Sheriff’s are As for Alta and Brighton, they come in with one or two accidents each. While Transmission seelt elite Office map) area. gates driving may play a bigger _ role thanit seems. rc fe Transmission Tune-up ee Includes: Appointment I only e Fluid Change : LY e All Sheets oes ae met only — $20,° Reg. $49.9 e All Parts - Patents ita tanatat nan nn tamramaNaR ars ata tosatanate eee oa era “T pera eae we - ae . q Se point in Little Cottonwood and SS of Big t one cae actual address- in cei entry D. C.B.. 1 this. The observations (and ing Snowbird. Beware! 3 Your chances of being in a traffic accident are statistically higher than at any other But Hit St ai ett are in documents such as es Cet 5 _ lems,’ ’ but of course never f it is a Saturday night, and you are approach- by to ttl consists of general informa- should be labeled “prob- Places. eternal compiled in October of 1994 for UDOT. The report Best Di ‘The many changes were suggested in a “short report” tions.” The “observations” | IN THE CANYONS | FROM PAGE 4 tion as well as “observations” and ‘ ‘recommenda- =— |
