Ski patroller triggered avalanche

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Bridger-Teton National Forest Avalanche Center says a ski patroller triggered an avalanche that severely damaged a restaurant at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.

Resort officials initially had said Monday's avalanche released without human intervention.

The avalanche piled up around a building with three restaurants at the top of a gondola lift. The snow broke through doors and plowed through tables and chairs inside the building.

Outside, the avalanche trapped five members of the resort's ski patrol. All five were quickly dug out and weren't hurt.

Bob Comey directs the Bridger-Teton National Forest Avalanche Center. He says the avalanche was triggered by a ski patroller who dropped a small explosive to release the avalanche artificially.

Such measures are a routine way of reducing the avalanche hazard at ski resorts.