Third Fatal Avalanche in USA as Huge Snowfall Continues
18th January 2024
Last modified on January 19th, 2024
The latest death was in Wyoming and follows fatalities in California and Idaho. After a poor start for snow this winter the situation is changing in North America. UPDATED
In the latest incident a backcountry skier in Prator Canyon in Wyoming died after triggering a 50-feet wide avalanche.
The victim was swept into a gully and through brush and trees, then remained buried for about 15-minutes before being found by a companion.
He has been named as 41-year-old David Rice.
The Teton County Search & Rescue said “significant storm created dangerous avalanche conditions throughout our region.”
Last week one person died in-bounds in Palisades Tahoe in California and another died in Idaho.
We reported on the incidents at the time:
In Utah one resort, Brighton, opened Milly Bowl only to people quipped with avalanche safety gear, including a beacon, probe, and shovel.
The resort said on Instagram that the initiative was “temporary,” and the Milly Bowl would open to the general public “soon.”
View this post on Instagram
The Utah Avalanche Centre advised skiers to remain on “slopes less than a 30-degree today. Stay away from, and avoid slopes connected to, anything steeper than about 30 degrees.”
Slopes shallower than 30 degrees are much less likely to avalanche than steeper ones.
The avalanche risks remain high, with twenty avalanches reported in just two days in Utah.
On Wednesday afternoon, an avalanche stopped traffic in both directions in Big Cottonwood Canyon for about an hour.
Utah Avalanche Center Avalanche Forecaster Craig Gordon said the snowpack is dangerous.
“Right now, any avalanche you trigger it’s going to break deep, it’s going to be dangerous and it is going to fail on those weak layers that were created during the dry spell,” Gordon said.
In just a couple of days, he said there have been numerous human-triggered avalanches and close calls.
Colorado has also seen heavy snow with 800 avalanches recorded by the Colorado Avalanche Information Centre between January 11th and 17th.
With a dry and sunny December, new snow in Colorado is sitting on an unstable base triggering a number of avalanches across the West.
The fresh snow has got the winter back on track after a poor start in both the USA and Canada.
Now the lack of snow is but a distant memory.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming:
We’re back in the flow! Per @MountainWeather, we could receive 1-2 feet of fresh ❄️ in the next 24 hours. A quick lull to begin the week gives way to the powerful pull of the powder portal. We’re 85% open, 112 available, & the Hobacks are now open!
📸: Keegan Rice #jacksonhole pic.twitter.com/1y3n8ydF4T— Jackson Hole (@jhski) January 17, 2024
Park City, Utah:
Scoring fresh tracks in Jupiter Bowl under blue skies after a multi-day storm. Who said Tuesdays were boring? pic.twitter.com/qD3F9w6v1D
— Park City Mountain (@PCski) January 17, 2024
Arapahoe Basin, Colorado:
More to follow…
