- An avalanche outside Brighton Ski Resort killed 11-year-old Madelyn Eitas on Feb. 19.
- The incident highlights risks of "sidecountry" areas, deceptive due to high avalanche danger next to resorts.
- Utah leads the nation in avalanche fatalities among riders leaving ski area boundaries.
BRIGHTON — Utah avalanche forecasters say that an avalanche outside of Brighton Ski Resort that killed an 11-year-old girl last month underscores the risks of backcountry areas next to resorts.
Madelyn Eitas, of Rochester, Massachusetts, was skiing with her father and a sibling on Feb. 19 when they exited Brighton's boundaries. She was ahead of the pack, traveling about 20 to 30 feet below a rocky apron near Mary Main Bowl.
As she continued along the apron, she unintentionally triggered a 550-foot-wide avalanche above her that dropped 300 feet vertically. She was caught up in it and carried 200 feet downhill, according to the Utah Avalanche Center's final report on the incident, which was released over the weekend.
"The family had no avalanche rescue equipment, and a family member used a phone location service to help narrow the search area as bystanders assisted in the rescue effort," the agency wrote.
Brighton Ski Patrol, which was alerted about the incident by bystanders who witnessed it, located Madelyn underneath 4 feet of snow by the toe of the avalanche debris near some trees in the area. She had been buried for approximately 17 minutes by the time she was pulled out of the snow, according to the report.
A medical helicopter was called off due to weather conditions at the time. Ski patrollers performed CPR for about 30 minutes before she was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where she died.
The family likely entered the area after passing through a rope indicating the resort's boundaries and a sign warning skiers that they were entering areas that had not undergone avalanche mitigation work, according to the report.
While the area was not within the resort boundaries, officials pointed out that it is located between lifts within the resort.
After reviewing the site, the center determined that Madelyn was caught up on the edge of the avalanche near where slope angles range from 32 to 40 degrees. Approximately 2½ to 4 feet of snow had fallen in the area during the week of the incident, creating unsafe conditions in areas where avalanche control hadn't been conducted.
Related:
Officials identify 11-year-old girl killed in avalanche near Brighton Ski Resort
An 11-year-old Massachusetts girl who died Thursday in an avalanche near Brighton Ski Resort has been identified.The avalanche originated in "thinner, rockier terrain above the victim," starting with a break in recent snowfall, then "stepping down to the weak, faceted snow that developed during the January dry spell," the report states.
The report is meant to gather insights into fatal avalanches with the hopes of preventing similar incidents. In this case, experts warn that "sidecountry" areas — sections of backcountry next to ski areas — are sometimes "deceptive" because of high avalanche danger, similar to the backcountry, in areas not terribly far from ski resorts.
They wrote that Utah has the most avalanche fatalities in the nation among riders who have left ski area boundaries.
"As a whole, not all in-bounds patrons are aware of what the backcountry is, nor the hazards that come with backcountry travel," they wrote. "Anyone leaving a ski area boundary must treat the terrain they enter as backcountry: check the avalanche forecast; carry a beacon, shovel and probe; know how to use them; and travel with a partner."
Madelyn was "caring, beautiful, silly, sassy, athletic and loving," and enjoyed skiing and other outdoor activities, her family wrote in an obituary.
"Words cannot fully express how deeply she will be missed by her family and friends. ... She lived life with energy, joy and adventure," they wrote.
Another fatal slide in Big Cottonwood Canyon
She was one of four people who died in four separate Utah avalanches between Feb. 18 and Feb. 22. Kevin Williams, 57, died nearly a week after an avalanche near Butler Fork, also in Big Cottonwood Canyon, which occurred two days after the slide near Lake Mary.
The second slide was determined to have been unintentionally triggered by skiing in the area, as nine skiers from three groups were all in the area at the time of the avalanche. Again, heavy new snow on a "persistent weak layer" was a major factor in the slide, per the Utah Avalanche Center.
One of the skiers told the center they were aware of the danger and their group tried to stick to slopes less than 30 degrees, but "felt the trees (in the area) would offer some safety as they navigated the slope toward the ridgeline" when they entered an area with steeper slope angles, the agency wrote in the final report for that slide also released over the weekend.
Officials note that sticking to safety plans and speaking up when entering unsafe terrain are important, especially when avalanche danger is elevated.
"Others around you may be feeling the same uncertainty, and saying something could prevent an accident," they wrote.
