JH Underground – news, sports and music blog from Jackson Hole, Wyoming news, sports and music blog from Jackson Hole, Wyoming

The Utah Avalanche Center has released photos and a thorough report from the slide that killed pro skier Jamie Pierre on Sunday.

Pierre and a friend were riding in Utah’s Little Cottonwood Canyon at the Alta and Snowbird resorts, which were closed at the time and had not yet done any avalanche control. They triggered one large avalanche that did not catch them, then proceeded to the South Chute area of Gad Valley, where another slide caught Pierre and carried him about 800 feet over cliffs.

The avalanche center’s report reads like a textbook on early-season instability, much like the assessment Jackson Hole forecaster Bob Comey gave Saturday regarding the Teton snowpack. The Utah center had been warning of the danger on north-facing slopes because of weak layers of snow that fell in October.

“This incident is difficult for many reasons,” the report states. “We heard of over 10 human triggered avalanches on the day of the fatality, primarily in the upper elevation terrain in the unopened Alta ski area.”

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Posted under Deaths, Environment, Ski Resorts, Sports

Tags: avalanches, backcountry, skiing, snowboarding, utah

Like, way, way canceled. And not because of the rainy weather.

Snow King Resort pulled the plug on the show because the Utah-based promoter did not follow through on a contract for an earlier concert, Confederate Railroad on July 21. And the promoter, Jason Taylor, salesman for a minor league baseball team, the Orem Owlz, is facing legal and financial woes in his home state stemming from unpaid bills for another botched event.

I’ve known the show was in jeopardy for some time, after Confederate Railroad was called off, but SmithTix continued to sell tickets until yesterday, when it posted a notice of the cancellation.

Dana Ahrensberg, manager of events at Snow King, sent an email to Taylor on July 18, saying, “I’m pulling the plug on Snow King’s involvement in the concert supposedly scheduled for July 21st at Snow King. Snow King will no longer participate in this event. Our property it NOT available for your use. As we have not received any money from you we have nothing to refund. Consider this discussed event & related hotel rooms cancelled, it will not occur on Snow King Resort property. I appreciate your interest in us as a venue. I’m not sure what happened here. Good luck with future endeavors.”

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Posted under Crime, Entertainment, Music, Ski Resorts

Tags: cowboys, snow king, utah

The rock band and global consciousness-raising spaceship that is U2 touched down in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, treating Western fans to a deafeningly loud, visually stunning show unlike anything ever seen in Utah.

From profound anthems to more recent hits and gems dusted off and newly inserted into the set list, the band gave a two-hour-plus performance that spanned its career. All of this took place beneath a 360-degree, 164-foot-tall stage with mesmerizing video and lights, nicknamed The Claw.

Still reaching, still searching after more than three decades together, the Irish rockers hit the right note with a song from their last album, No Line on the Horizon. “The sweetest melody is one we haven’t heard,” said Bono, introducing “I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight.”

The song pretty much summed up our approach to a night spent among 35,000 staid and sober — no beer was sold at the show — Utahans.

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Posted under Entertainment, Music, Politics, Religion

Tags: rock, travel, U2, utah

OK, let’s try this again: Tickets for the May 24 U2 concert at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City went on sale this morning.

Prices range from $30 behind the stage to $55 for general admission on the floor to $95 and $250 for premium sections. A search a short while ago showed that floor tickets are available for, once service charges are added, about $69.

The show was supposed to take place last June but was postponed after Bono injured his back during a rehearsal. Original tickets remain valid. The band also is playing Mile High Stadium in Denver on May 21.

U2 just performed a pair of landmark concerts in South Africa last week, with Malian duo Amadou & Mariam opening and guest appearances by South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela and singer Yvonne Chaka Chaka for “Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”

Not yet ready to tease yourself with plans for summer?

We’ll be giving away a pair of tickets for the bluegrass band Crooked Still on Wednesday at Center for the Arts. Check back tomorrow for details.

Posted under Music

Tags: rock, travel, U2, utah

Here’s the story of a Farr West, Utah, woman who videotaped a bison trampling her in Yellowstone National Park last week.

Not explained in any of the media coverage of the incident: who threw the stick at the bison, and why no charges have been pressed for harassing wildlife.

If this clip doesn’t sate your running-of-the-bulls blood lust for tourist trampling, there are much better videos on YouTube of bison attacks.

Be smart, people. Stick to the stuffed bison on the Jackson Town Square.

Posted under Environment, Wyoming

Tags: bison, utah, wildlife, yellowstone