On Sunday, a 45-year-old Salt Lake City man was caught and killed by an avalanche that he unintentionally triggered while snowboarding in the Utah backcountry adjacent to Park City Mountain Resort.
According to the Utah Avalanche Center, he had left the Canyons Village side of Park City Mountain Resort via the backcountry exit gate at the top of the Ninety-Nine 90 Express, leading into the neighboring Wasatch National Forest. Accessing a steep and rocky section along the Park City ridgeline known as Dutch Draw, the snowboarder was partially down the slope when he triggered the slide. He was buried in a 100-foot-wide, 3-foot-deep pile of snow.
The Summit Count Sheriff’s Office stated that the incident did not occur within the expansive ski resort’s boundaries.
We are currently working a backcountry avalanche near the ski resort with one confirmed burial. The single snowboarder has been dug out. Life saving efforts are in progress. This is NOT in the ski resort. More details to follow.
— Sheriff Justin (@SummitCountySO) December 15, 2019
Sad Update – A 45 year old man from Salt Lake City has died after being buried in a backcountry avalanche. We offer our sincere condolences to the family. #backcountry #avalanche
— Sheriff Justin (@SummitCountySO) December 15, 2019
The Conehead area of Dutch Draw is known for having significant avalanche danger, states the UAC. The last death in the area due to an avalanche occurred in 2012.
The UAC reported that the weather on the day of the incident was mostly cloudy with light winds. After a heavy Pacific storm dropped 18 inches of snow on the Wasatch Mountains on Friday and Saturday, by Sunday the avalanche danger rating was reduced from HIGH to CONSIDERABLE.
“A CONSIDERABLE DANGER exists on many mid and upper elevation slopes,” stated the Bottom Line of the avalanche forecast. “The danger is most pronounced on steep northwest to easterly facing terrain at the mid and upper elevations. In this terrain, human triggered slides may step down 3-4′ deep and hundreds of feet wide. This terrain is to be avoided.”
As of Monday morning, UAC Staff, as well as Park City and Canyons resort avalanche professionals, were investigating the scene.
On Tuesday the Utah Avalanche Center released the full report. The details are outlined in the video below:
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