After a season of historic snowfall across the West, the nation’s ski areas logged a record 64.7 million skier visits for the 2022-23 season, up from the previous high of 61 million visits in 2021-22,.
Ski patrol conducted a thorough search of the Rock Island area and did not find any individuals caught in the slide; no one was reported missing, either.
There’s something about the allure of untouched terrain that some folks just can’t seem to resist when they illegally enter closed terrain at the ski area in pursuit of fresh tracks, according to Snowmass Village Police Officer Dave Heivly. He calls it the “powder fever mystique.”