A snowboarder got caught in an avalanche in the Canyons side county around 3 p.m. today. He was riding the popular back-county gate off the peak known as Ninety-Nine 90, said sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Ron Bridge. According to the Utah Avalanche Center the man in his early 20’s triggered the avalanche underneath a cliff where unstable snow pellets had pooled. The slab was 1 foot deep and 40 feet wide.
The last known death was back in 2005 when an Idaho snowboarder got caught in an avalanche in Dutch Draw. The Dutch Draw area is “hugely popular for out-of-bounds skiing and snowboarding,” said Craig Gordon, forecaster for the Utah Avalanche Center. Dutch Draw also has some sweet speed flying terrain as well, with decants of 1,000 feet.