Marion resident Michael Janulaitis was skiing alone in the backcountry on Friday, March 7 near Hoyt Peak when he was caught, carried and killed in an avalanche on a steep, northeast facing run in Hoyt Bowl.
Summit County Sheriff’s Lt. Alan Siddoway said Janulaitis was reported missing late Friday afternoon when he didn’t return home as expected.
“Given the circumstances that the wife was describing to dispatch in that he always checks in,” Lt. Siddoway said. “He's usually home by 2:30 or 3 o'clock, and she had been unable to reach him. That rose to the level, in our estimation, of an immediate response.”
Summit County Search and Rescue was immediately deployed, including a Department of Public Safety helicopter. But Siddoway said the weather forced them to temporarily suspend the search until Saturday morning.
“DPS was able to fly, but they were limited as the ceiling was basically at 9,000 feet, so they weren't able to search all areas. And when the weather came in, they had to return to base,” he said.
At the same time, SAR’s snowmobile resources were also deployed, and he said they were able to find a snow bike track that Janulaitis used to access ski terrain. Again, Siddoway said they had to turn back for safety reasons.
“They got into the general area, and they found a debris field from an avalanche,” he said. “Our concern at the time was the darkness and also weather had come in, the peak was socked in. They couldn't see what was above them.”
Crews returned to the scene early Saturday morning under better conditions. Using the resources of Park City Mountain ski patrol, including its avalanche dogs and RECCO technology that is sewn into most snow clothing, Siddoway said they found Janulaitis under 45 inches of snow.
The Utah Avalanche Center has issued a preliminary report on the accident. Forecaster David Kelly said Janulaitis knew what he was doing in the backcountry.
“He did spend a lot of time in the backcountry,” Kelly said. “You know, he would submit observations to the avalanche center, and we appreciated it when he submitted those observations. And so, he was an experienced backcountry traveler.”
The avalanche was on a 43-degree northeast facing slope. It was estimated to be 3 feet deep by 150 feet wide and ran 1,000 vertical feet. Kelly said the snow slid from a layer of weak, faceted snow that had formed earlier in the season.
Kelly said there is still a considerable danger for triggering a slide on weak layers that were formed in early December and March.
According to his Linkedin account, Janulaitis was self-employed as an IT expert. He was also a long-time volunteer for Deer Valley Resort’s freestyle World Cups. Lt. Siddoway said the family requested privacy as they try to process the loss.
