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SALT LAKE CITY -- Avalanche danger lingers in Utah's backcountry. One person died this weekend, and avalanche experts fear others may ignore the avalanche warnings and put themselves in peril.
The phenomenal snowfall this past weekend lured many riders into the backcountry near Snowbasin Resort, and a dangerous area called Hell's Canyon. Forty-two-year-old Todd Bell got separated from a friend at the top and was swept down by an avalanche Sunday afternoon.
Avalanches are not triggered by noise. In 93% of avalanche accidents, the avalanche is triggered by the victim or someone in the victim's party. - Utah Avalanche Center
Snowboarders Tony Washington and Jared Phelps dropped into that area with their friends and came across Bell, who was partially buried in the avalanche debris field.
"He wasn't too buried," Phelps said. "He was at the end of the slide, and I'd say his face had 5 inches of snow on it, and his arm was a little buried."
The two immediately tried to save the skier.
"We called 911 immediately and pulled him out and checked his pulse," Washington said. "There was no pulse, and then I started doing chest compressions."
They performed CPR and waited for the rescue helicopter to arrive.
"It didn't look like we could do much when we came up to the scene to save him, but we tried," Phelps said.
They were unable to save the skier, and eventually moved away from the debris field and the avalanche chute.
"We tried our best," Washington said. "I figured if there was any chance of survival, it was going to be us, so we tried our best to do what we could do."
When the LifeFlight helicopter arrived, it rescued five other boarders and skiers from the ridge line who were stranded by the slide and unstable snow conditions.
Bruce Tremper, the director of the Utah Avalanche Center, told KSL News avalanche danger remains considerable-to-high in Northern Utah.
"People perceive that it's safe to go out there, and it's really not," he said. "Considerable danger means experts only. You really need to know what you're doing."
Brandon Toll, with Weber County Search and Rescue, was out there Sunday as his crews tried to save lives and assess the deadly conditions. Unsuccessful rescue operations are hard on the volunteer workers.
"The warnings are out there, and people chose to ignore those warnings," Toll said. "Then it turns into a disaster like this. It's real difficult to deal with."
When the rescue crews mobilize, they race into those same dangerous conditions that put skiers and snowboarders in trouble.
"It would be nice if people understood that when they take risks and chances, if they need help, they're putting other people in harm's way to do it," said Capt. Klint Anderson, with the Weber County Sheriff's Office.
Avalanches have killed eight people in western states this winter.
E-mail: jboal@ksl.com
