Over the weekend in Summit County, two separate avalanches were reported, each time with a recreationalist buried in the slide.
There were different outcomes, though. A slide in the Chalk Creek area resulted in the death of a snowmobiler. Another rider was uninjured after an avalanche near Woodland.
The Summit County Sheriff’s Office reported that at about 1:30 Saturday afternoon, they got a call about an avalanche near the East Fork of Chalk Creek, which resulted in the death of a central-Utah man.
He was identified as 49-year-old Jason Lyman, from Mona.
The Utah Avalanche Center website said the victim was snowmobiling with his 14-year-old son and a family friend. Lyman was attempting to climb a steep chute on the west side of Humpy Peak, which triggered a slide that buried him and his vehicle.
The victim was buried four to five feet deep for 30 to 40 minutes. The victim had a beacon, and his friend also had one, but wasn’t skilled in its use. The other two riders, having no probes or shovels, began digging with their hands in the wrong location. Another group that arrived did have shovels and helped uncover the victim.
The avalanche was estimated to be 500-600 feet wide, and at the toe, four to ten feet deep.
Survivors administered CPR for over 40 minutes until a helicopter from the Division of Public Safety arrived. Lyman was taken to a hospital in Evanston where he died.
Also, on Saturday, the Utah Avalanche Center reported that a snow biker was caught in a slide on a small steep slope along Mill Hollow Road in South Summit. The rider only had his hand showing, but he was dug out in a matter of seconds and was uninjured.
The group had rescue gear and one of the riders posted on the Avalanche Center website, saying he hoped he could talk even one person into getting a beacon.
He noted that there were tracks across the hill, but that doesn’t make it safe. He also recommended taking a radio and knowing the number of people in your group. He wrote that after the slide, he counted four riders missing. He said that two of the group appeared shortly afterward, and he radioed the others.
