A man was caught and buried by an avalanche while snowbiking in the Snake Creek area northwest of Midway Sunday afternoon, Feb. 22.
The Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office has identified him as a 45-year-old from the Rose Park neighborhood of Salt Lake City.
Emergency responders first learned of the avalanche, which happened in the Caribou Basin area between the Snake Creek drainage and Pine Canyon, at around 4:30 p.m. Sunday.
The man was out with a group of snowmobilers and snowbikers, but he was the only one caught in the slide.
Undersheriff Josh Probst said unstable conditions complicated recovery efforts. Search and rescue teams were at the scene until 9 p.m. Sunday and returned around 7 a.m. Monday.
A helicopter from the Utah Department of Public Safety worked with teams from area ski resorts to do avalanche mitigation before search teams with K-9s were sent in.
Searchers have found the man, but recovery efforts were ongoing as of 11 a.m. Monday.
Utah Avalanche Center forecaster Greg Gagne said danger remains “considerable” in the region, meaning human-triggered slides are likely.
“Where you can get into trouble is northerly-facing slopes,” he said. “These are slopes facing northwest, north, northeast, particularly north and northeast. Any slope approaching 30 degrees or steeper is suspect. So, we're just advising people to avoid that terrain right now, and that means you don't want to be on a slope that's 30 degrees or steeper, underneath or adjacent to one of those slopes.”
This latest backcountry fatality comes after two other deaths in Wasatch County. One man was killed in an avalanche while snowmobiling in Snake Creek Feb. 18, and another man died after a snowmobile crash near Iron Mine Mountain Feb. 21.
More than 60 avalanches have been reported across the state over the past week.
Lt. Alan Siddoway, who leads neighboring Summit County’s Search and Rescue team, said he encourages people to prepare and check conditions before venturing into the backcountry.
“Go prepared. Go with the right equipment,” he said. “Don’t go alone. We’re seeing, with avalanche response, the ability to self-rescue is low – go with a group.”
The latest avalanche forecast is available from the Utah Avalanche Center.
