Avalanche — Wasatch Mountains South of I-80, Utah

2024-01-12 · Wasatch Mountains South of I-80, Utah

Event narrative

A group of several skiers were backcountry skiing in the of Porter Fork area within Millcreek Canyon on Friday, January 12. The group completed multiple runs in the West Porter Fork portion, and on their third ascent, opted to exit Main Porter Fork from West Porter Fork. As they were exiting, an avalanche was triggered, and one of the skiers in the group was unable to get to a safe location before the slide caught and fully buried him. After several minutes of beacon searching, they were able to successfully locate and probe the buried skier approximately 4 feet deep. The group worked quickly to uncover the buried skier, and once uncovered, it was discovered the buried skier was unconscious and was breathing very shallowly. While calling emergency services and deliberating who should preform CPR on the injured skier, the skier gradually began to show improved breathing, and slowly regained consciousness. While further injuries were initially feared, after some time the skier was able to ski out of the area. The Utah Avalanche Center danger rating for the day was listed as High at elevations above 8000 feet, and Considerable at elevations below 8000 feet. Specific timing of the avalanche was not stated, thus event time is estimated.

Wider weather episode

A fairly long duration two part winter storm moved through Utah in mid January. This winter storm resulted in several days of fairly substantial mountain snow, with more modest accumulations noted in some of the lower elevation valleys. Mountain snow was more or less a continuous feature with minimal breaks between the two portions of the system, while most valley accumulations occurred during the colder second half of the system. This system also produced periods of strong sustained winds and gusts, and was responsible for triggering multiple avalanches throughout Utah's mountains.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1151623. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.