Tragedy out of Utah where two people have died in two separate avalanche incidents over the past week.
The first incident occurred this past weekend, when Salt Lake County Search and Rescue was called out for a missing backcountry splitboarder. According to the organization, the man’s dog was discovered Saturday night above the Porter Fork road, with the dog’s microchip information matching that of the overdue party reported Sunday afternoon.
A Department of Public Safety (DPS) helicopter began a search with their long-range receiver, but avalanche conditions, weather, and limited daylight made it impossible for ground teams to get far into Porter Fork Sunday night. When the search began on Monday, dangerous avalanche conditions made it impossible for ground teams to reach the upper areas of Porter Fork.
Fortunately a good Samaritan in Upper Porter Fork performed a beacon search in an avalanche debris pile and located the overdue party. The man was buried around three feet deep near the toe of the avalanche debris.
On Tuesday, following aerial reconnaissance of the area with a DPS helicopter, rescuers determined that avalanche control work would be required to make the area safe enough for ground teams. A Utah Department of Transportation team was able to set off several additional avalanches around the accident sight.
A Life Flight helicopter was called in to insert rescuers to the sight and recover the overdue party. As rescuers were being inserted to Porter Fork Ridge near the accident sight, reports of another large avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon with a potential burial forced SAR resources to divert, while Life Flight remained on the scene to finish the recovery.
The second incident occurred around midday on Tuesday, December 31. According to the Utah Avalanche Center, an individual was buried and killed by an avalanche in the Davenport Hill area of Silver Fork in Big cottonwood Canyon.
Much of Utah’s backcountry is currently marked as high on the avalanche danger ratings. Travel in or around avalanche terrain is not recommended. Always check the avalanche forecast before heading into the backcountry, and ensure that you have the proper training and education to travel safely.
Our thoughts go out to the friends and family of the deceased at this time.