Avalanche — Wasatch Mountains South of I-80, Utah

2025-01-23 · Wasatch Mountains South of I-80, Utah

Event narrative

Sometime during the day, a party of backcountry skiers started a day in Big Cottonwood Canyon, eventually working their way up to the Park City ridgeline. The skiers then planned a descent into the Katie's area. One of the skiers started a descent, causing a hard slab to break approximately 30 ft above them on the second turn of their run. This avalanche caused the skier to be pulled into a chute in the woods, and carried the skier an estimated 500 ft. The skier was able to extract themselves from the snow, and while a life flight had been called, the skier reportedly only suffered minor injuries and significant bruising, and emergency services deemed to be not needed.

Wider weather episode

While several avalanches were noted throughout the month of January given the tenuous nature of the snowpack, one in the later portion of the month resulted in injury.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1229648. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.