Fatal Slide near 9990 area Canyons, UT

[Lonnie]

Vibes to this man's friends and family.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=2378450

Yet another avalanche in Utah has taken the life of a skier. A man died around noon today and a boy was seriously hurt.

It is still not clear if the man and the boy who survived were skiing in the resort or were out of bounds. Either way, the avalanche happened very close to the resort's northern boundary and claimed the life of one skier.

Summit County Sheriff Dave Edmunds said, "What we know at this point is that we have one confirmed fatality, a male between the age of 25 and 30 years old. We have a second victim who was caught in the avalanche but rescued, an adolescent male that has been transported to a Salt Lake area hospital."

The ski patrol and the Summit County search and rescue were called out around 11:20 this morning to the 9990 area of the Canyons. The slide happened near the Red Pines Chute run.

[0BernhardFranz]

I only hear Americans say " We got fresh Powder !!! "

I only hear Lech ski guides say: Frischer Pulverschnee ! which means fresh powder, high avalanche danger, stay out of !!! or Neuschnee !!! If you hear Neuschnee DON´T GO THERE. It says ATTENTION, FRESH SNOW, DON´T ENTER, DANGER OF AVALANCHE !!!

[PowTron]

I only hear Americans say " We got fresh Powder !!! "

I only hear Lech ski guides say: Frischer Pulverschnee ! which means fresh powder, high avalanche danger, stay out of !!! or Neuschnee !!! If you hear Neuschnee DON´T GO THERE. It says ATTENTION, FRESH SNOW, DON´T ENTER, DANGER OF AVALANCHE !!!

great compassion, Euro trash

[Shredgar]

From the UAC website:

Preliminary Avalanche Accident Report

[telemyk]

Replied in the thread on the ski/snowboard forum but had some other thoughts.

The skier's right chute in Red Pine (left side of the pics from the UAC, under the dead, angled tree) gets the most snow at The Canyons. Period. We've dropped in there and been up to our nipples when it was only boot deep everywhere else. It was obvious some of the snow came from higher up the slope.

I think there are several reasons for this:

1. Wind loading - this is the leeward side of the Wasatch crest
2. More wind loading - it's just below the low point of the saddle between 9990 and Square Top
3. Sloughs - steep enough that it naturally sloughs even more

I think the first two, and maybe the third indirectly, contributed to this slide.

Elsewhere on the Park City ridgeline you can see where huge cornices build up wherever there is a break in the trees. Like relief values, these are where the snow comes out of Big Cottonwood Canyon and Mill Creek Canyon. But Red Pine Pass (if that's the name) has no trees for several hundred yards. Basically, this pass is the primary relief valve for Mill Creek.