The tour included two guides, 11 skiers and two snowcat operators, according to a Utah Avalanche Center report released this week.
The group spent March 9 skiing several drainages in upper Weber Canyon, northeast of Oakley.
On their ninth run of the day, they went to a peak around 10,500 feet in elevation, roughly three miles west of Windy Peak, shortly after 3 p.m.
A guide skied the slope first and stopped above a bunch of trees. A guest skier followed and stopped next to the guide.
A third skier fell making his way down the same slope and when the fourth person began descending, they triggered a hard slab avalanche. It was four feet deep, 400 feet wide and ran over 1,000 feet vertically. The two were caught, carried downhill and buried. The guide and first skier were outside the avalanche path.
The report says it took six minutes to confirm that there were two missing skiers.
The two guides began to survey the debris field, looking for a transceiver signal that would help determine where the skiers were buried. On their second probe, a positive strike was made and they began shoveling with the help of two others. They uncovered the face of one of the buried skiers, and he was breathing and alert, the report says. He was flown to the hospital in stable condition.
The other trapped skier took longer to recover. After detecting a transceiver signal, they began to dig and discovered the skier’s boot, realizing that he was upside-down with his head buried six feet deep in the snow. When they uncovered the skier’s head, he was not breathing and had no pulse.
He was extricated and administered medical care, but it was too late. San Diego native Ryan Barr, 46, was pronounced dead 1.5 hours after the avalanche. The death was the first caused by an avalanche in Utah in more than two years, and just the second in the Uintas, according to UAC records.
Barr’s family said in a statement that he was a “devoted husband, father, and son” who will be remembered for his “big personality, kindness, and ability to light up a room.”
The report notes two challenges in the rescue effort. UAC said one factor was that Barr was buried very deeply. Shoveling is the most demanding and time-consuming phase of a rescue, and it takes longer the deeper someone is buried.
The second factor was the fact that two people were buried, which UAC said makes the rescue more complex and also time-consuming. Avalanche danger was considered “moderate” on the day of the incident.
Park City Powder Cats caters to those looking to get away from lift-served resort terrain. It offers guided tours on the private Thousand Peaks Ranch, which spans over 10,000 acres. The company previously said it was “deeply saddened by this terrible tragedy.”
Park City Powder Cats provides each of its clients with an avalanche beacon, but a probe and shovel are optional. It’s unknown if any of the guests on the tour were equipped with a full array of backcountry gear.
A link to the full UAC report can be found here.
