"You're Not In Trouble" Utah Avalanche Center Searching For Skiers Who Ducked Rope & Triggered Avalanche At Brighton Resort

Utah Avalanche Center (UAC) want the pair of skiers they are attempting to track down to know they are not in trouble. The slide path was discovered by a member of UAC and a Brighton Resort ski patroller. UAC reports the slide happened on the northwest slope of Hidden Canyon in the backcountry near Brighton, just north of the top of the Great Western chairlift and was likely caused by resort guests who ducked a boundary rope.

The avalanche was 200 feet wide, 3 feet deep, and carried the skiers 600 feet down slope. The investigation revealed two burial holes, one with blood. Probe marks were found in the debris indicating that at least one person was completely buried. Blood was also found on the scene indicating someone was injured.

“It appears that two riders were caught and carried in a large avalanche today (1/3) in the backcountry near Brighton Ski Resort. They likely exited the ski area by ducking a closure rope and triggered the avalanche themselves. The slide carried them approximately 600 feet downslope. One rider was reportedly partially buried, while the other may have been fully buried. Because the avalanche was not officially reported, exact details remain unknown.” -Utah Avalanche Center

UAC added the following warning about the dangers traveling outside ski area boundaries:

“If you duck ropes or travel beyond ski area boundaries, you are entering the backcountry, where dangerous avalanche conditions may exist,” they wrote in an Instagram post. “Ski area closures and boundaries are in place for your safety—please respect them. Notably, Utah leads the nation in avalanche fatalities involving people who exited ski areas and did not return home.” -Utah Avalanche Center

Accident & Rescue Summary:

This avalanche was spied by Brighton Snow Safety Malia Bowman and UAC forecaster Drew Hardesty Saturday early afternoon while investigating another skier triggered slide in HIdden Canyon (INFO) from Friday Jan 2. Very little is known about this avalanche so far, except that Malia and co-worker Max McNeil (patrol director) investigated the debris and found two burial holes, one with blood. It’s possible that the two were caught, carried 500′ and partially buried. The slide is estimated 2-4′ deep and 200′ wide, running 600′ down the slope on a northwest facing slope at 10,500′.

When Max and Malia investigated the debris pile, they found two burial holes in the snow, with probe marks…indicating that at least one person was completely buried.

We hope to learn more information.

Comments:

I was out with UAC forecaster Drew Hardesty investigating the avalanche that was reported yesterday (1/2/26). Found it, and continued to a better view point of the bowl to see if we could still see the crown from a different avalanche in the same area that happened on Wed 12/31. I noticed a large avalanche to the immediate lookers left of the 12/31 avalanche. A Brighton snow safety team went to inspect the site. We went in high to inspect the crown, but there is too much hang fire to safely come in from the top. Near the toe, we found obvious signs of 2 people involved, noting with probe holes and evidence of recovery and injury.

This avalanche was unreported. If anyone has any information about this incident, please reach out to Brighton patrol. YOU ARE NOT IN TROUBLE. Reporting avalanches near ski resort boundaries is very important for rescue operations.