A massive chunk of ice and rubble at the base of Bridal Veil Falls takes the ripple out of the rushing Provo River as it unnaturally pools under a mangled bridge.
But the thunderous avalanche that obliterated a gift shop, splintered the aerial tram house and buried a railroad caboose snack shop in January has stilled more than the river.As local government officials discuss cleaning out the debris before it impedes spring runoff, resort owner David S. Grow wonders if Bridal Veil Falls resort will ever be resurrected.
A weathered "Skytram Operation Instructions Manual" lying in a trash heap next to the crushed tram house might not be consulted again. The 35-year-old tram won't ascend the 1,228-feet past the falls to the mountaintop this year. Or any year, for that matter.
"I think there's clearly that possibility," Grow said.
Grow hasn't spent much time at the barren resort since the snowslide.
"When I think about Bridal Veil, I think of the way it used to be. When I get up there, I think, `This is history. It will never be the same again,' " he said.
At least the main attraction - water shrouding the mountain's rocky cliffs like a bridal veil - hasn't changed.
Grow, whose family bought the resort in 1974, has no plans or money to rebuild. Damage was estimated at $1 million. Hedidn't have avalanche insurance. Grow said the resort wasn't a moneymaker. Profits went back into sprucing it up and maintaining the Swiss-made tram.
State legislators and tourism officials have contacted Grow about government stepping in. So far, it has been just talk. A mild effort to raise some private money hasn't netted anything.
While Grow ponders the resort's future, local officials have a more immediate problem: What to do with avalanche fallout in the Provo River.
"There are barrels and cans of unknown substances that we have to get out of the water," said Lt. Dick Casto, Utah County sheriff's emergency services director. Some river water is diverted for drinking.
The snowslide, along with hurricane-force wind, toppled a steel railroad car into the water. Uprooted trees, boards and other building leftovers clog the river. The river bored a hole through a thick foundation of ice that settled over it. The typically swift water is reduced to trickle perpendicular to the waterfall.
A bottleneck at Bridal Veil Falls could force flooding as mountain snow begins to thaw and dribble into the river.
"It's not a real serious problem, but it's one we need to get fixed before the spring runoff," Casto said. Also, the irrigation season typically begins about April 15.
Provo city and Utah County are monitoring the river and the quarter-mile-long glacier that settled over it. No one knows how much debris lies frozen in the ice.
"The problem is that area does not see sunlight until midsummer," said Merril Bingham, Provo city water resources director.
The various entities that hold an interest in the river are hashing over who's responsible for cleanup and who's going to pay for it. The resort lies in Utah County.
Bingham said it's likely the city will help pull out some garbage. City crews annually spring-clean the river as it flows through Provo. Some of the debris could find its way to Provo as the ice melts.
Grow, the resort owner, said he doesn't believe he has a legal obligation to clean up the river. "I don't know if I'm any more responsible than anybody else. We feel a call to do it," he said.
Grow hired a crane operator to pull the boxcar out of the river Thursday, and he is encouraging volunteer cleanup days every weekend this spring. Meanwhile, he holds out hope that the resort will be rebuilt someday.
"We are open to enthusiasm and vision from any source. We don't think Bridal Veil is ours. We think it belongs to the community," he said.