SALT LAKE CITY — A split boarder was killed in an avalanche in Little Cottonwood Canyon that Utah Avalanche Center experts believe he triggered while traveling alone on Tuesday.
Around noon, an avalanche was reported in the Davenport area. It was considered a “large” avalanche, the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office said.
The Utah Avalanche Center said the person who died was a 54-year-old man who had been traveling in the Silver Fork area, originally in Big Cottonwood Canyon. The man triggered the avalanche, which then fully buried and killed him, according to a statement from the avalanche center. His body was buried about 20 feet below the surface.
“Our condolences go out to the victim’s family and friends, as well as those affected by this tragedy,” the statement said.
A skier from another party noticed a recent avalanche with one track and reported it to Alta Central, the avalanche center said. Rescue crews searched the area and found the “deeply buried” man with an avalanche transceiver.
Salt Lake County Deputy Sheriff Arlan Bennett said investigators are unsure what the man was doing when he was caught up in the slide. His identity has not been released as of Wednesday morning.
Forecasters with the avalanche center traveled to the site of the accident a few days previously and reported that the only red flag for avalanches not present was additional weight, which could be added by the weight of a rider or more snow. They noted multiple areas of shallow wind-drifted snow.
The Cottonwood canyons and other parts of the Wasatch Mountain backcountry remain in an avalanche warning, which was first issued on Friday when danger rose to “high” as water-heavy new snow fell on top of “weak, preexisting faceted snow” on the ground.
An Alta site monitored by the National Weather Service received more than 3 feet of new snow since Christmas Day, mirroring other parts of the Cottonwood canyons.
The warning notes that both human- and naturally-triggered avalanches are likely all across the Wasatch Mountains. People are urged to stay away from areas near slopes steeper than 30 degrees.
This is the second avalanche fatality in the last three days in an area under an avalanche warning. An overdue hiker from Canada was killed in an avalanche in Millcreek Canyon Saturday, and his body was recovered Tuesday.
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