The Utah Avalanche Center (UAC) is reporting that two avalanche-related deaths have occurred in less than one week as the state’s snowpack is reeling from a dangerous persistent weak layer.
The first fatality occurred on Saturday, December 28, 2024, on Porter Fork Pass near Big Cottonwood Canyon. Salt Lake County Search and Rescue (SLCOSAR) responded to a missing person report when a family member did not return as expected.
SLCOSAR searched for two days in the Porter Fork area out of Millcreek Canyon, but could not ascend to higher terrain due to high avalanche danger. On Monday, December 30, 2024, a backcountry skier found the missing person who, “appeared to have been buried in an avalanche just below Porter Fork Pass.”
The victim was a 38-year-old from Quebec, Canada.
The second fatality occurred on Davenport Hill on Tuesday, December 31, 2024. A solo snowboarder is believed to have triggered an avalanche on the north facing Davenport Hill in the Silver Fork Drainage of Big Cottonwood Canyon. The snowboarder was caught in the slide and buried.