Avalanche
A skier was killed and another injured in an avalanche today in the Silver Fork area of Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, today.
Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy Arlan Bennett confirmed that rescue teams responded at 12:48 p.m. The avalanche buried two skiers, both in their 50s. One managed to escape with a leg injury and was transported to the hospital, while the other was killed.
Two others skiing in the area located the deceased victim. Rescue efforts were complicated by another avalanche above the main rescue area, forcing authorities to postpone the recovery operation due to heightened danger.
“Days like this make me nervous. Elevated danger, lots of new snow, buried facets (weak layer), partly cloudy skies, and stoke—it sounds like an avalanche accident waiting to happen,” a Utah Avalanche Center forecaster said.
The Utah Avalanche Center had reported considerable avalanche danger, warning “human-triggered avalanches 1 to 3 feet deep are likely today.”
In a separate incident on the same day, three skiers were caught in an avalanche in the Dutch Draw area off Silver Peak, just outside Park City Mountain Resort, Utah. All three survived, with two managing to dig out their buried partner. The Summit County Sheriff’s Office responded to this incident shortly after 1 p.m., working alongside Park City ski patrollers.
This is the fourth avalanche fatality in Utah this season and the eighth in the United States.
