The avalanche in Wasatch County’s Snake Creek, Big Flat area occurred around 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19.
The area is northwest of Midway.
In a statement, Wasatch County Undersheriff Josh Probst said a father and his juvenile son were snowmobiling in the area when the father was caught and buried. His son used an avalanche beacon to find his father and dig him out.
Wasatch County Search and Rescue, sheriff’s deputies and fire district personnel responded to the scene, where access to the site remained hazardous after the avalanche.
Probst commended the boy for his courage.
“The Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends and all those affected by this tragic incident,” he said.
The sheriff's office and the Utah Avalanche Center planned to gather more details from the site of the slide Thursday.
This is the first avalanche death in Utah in 2026.
Utah Avalanche Center forecaster Nikki Champion cautioned conditions remain dangerous in the backcountry after this week’s storm, which dropped more than 40 inches of snow in some parts of the Wasatch Mountains.
“Backcountry skiers reported really sensitive snow and widespread avalanches,” she said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Thursday morning, Feb. 19. “We had about 12 avalanches come into the Avalanche Center so far, and I would guess that that only captures a fraction of what was actually going on.”
Those reports include two slides near Park City.
Three skiers had a close call in an avalanche past Park City Mountain’s Peak 5 backcountry gate. Two skiers were caught and carried. One of them was fully buried but rescued without injury.
The UAC also observed a large natural slide Wednesday along the Park City ridgeline.
Avalanche danger remains high across most of the state.
This is a developing story.
