Each ski season, people leaving the permitted ski area off the south or front face of the San Francisco Peaks intending to ski back to Snowbowl, find the terrain pulls them downhill and away from the Snowbowl. Many skiers and boarders get lost, stuck or injured and call for help. Over that past few years, the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team has conducted Preventative Search and Rescue operations to mitigate the chances of people becoming lost, such as placing a track from a snow cat back to the Snowbowl Road which has helped to reduce the number of search calls. Last week, the Search and Rescue Unit cut snowshoe tracks along the Kachina Trail in hopes of catching lost skiers earlier and higher up the mountain and giving them a path back to Snowbowl. Officials remind recreationists that out of bounds travel is hazardous as the backcountry is not patrolled, and no avalanche mitigation is conducted. A permit is also required and can be obtained for free from the U.S. Forest Service.
