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- A split boarder was killed in a Big Cottonwood Canyon avalanche on Tuesday.
- The 54-year-old man triggered the avalanche while traveling solo on Davenport Hill.
- Authorities urge caution as avalanche warnings persist in the Wasatch Mountains.
SALT LAKE CITY — A split boarder was killed in an avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon that Utah Avalanche Center experts believe he triggered while traveling alone on Tuesday.
The avalanche was reported to have happened about noon in Little Cottonwood Canyon, in the Davenport Hill area near the town of Alta, according to Chris Bronson, spokesman for the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office. It was considered a "large" avalanche, and sheriff's deputy Arlan Bennett confirmed one person was killed in the slide.
The Utah Avalanche Center later issued a statement saying the person who died was a 54-year-old man who was split-boarding solo when he dropped into north-facing Davenport Hill. He then unintentionally triggered an avalanche in the Silver Fork area in Big Cottonwood Canyon.
The man was fully buried and killed by the slide, according to the statement. His body was found 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 says.
A skier from another party recreating in Little Cottonwood Canyon to the south noticed a "single track into fresh avalanche debris" 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.
The man's identity had not been released as of Wednesday afternoon.
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 split boarder from Canada was killed in an avalanche in Millcreek Canyon Saturday, and his body was recovered Tuesday.
"We have had two avalanche deaths in the last three days. Both patients were traveling solo in high-hazard terrain. Now is the time to stick to low-angle terrain, read the avalanche forecast, have a partner, tell someone where you are going and when you will be back, and bring rescue gear," the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue said on Facebook Wednesday.
