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BIG COTTONWOOD CANYON — A Minnesota man was injured Tuesday in an avalanche that swept through a steep backcountry area near Cardiff Fork in Big Cottonwood Canyon.
The 22-year-old man was skiing just before 2 p.m. when he was partially buried by the slide, injuring his right leg, according to the U.S. Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center.
The man also struck a tree and hurt his back and ribs in the ordeal, said Unified Police Lt. Lex Bell. The man remained hospitalized in serious condition Tuesday evening and was examined for internal injuries. He was expected to survive, Bell said.
The avalanche was 3 to 5 feet deep and about 150 feet wide, the Utah Avalanche Center said. The slide overtook the man while he was skiing just above 10,000 feet in elevation.
Bell said the slope the victim was skiing is called Holy Toledo and is known to be "very steep."
Wasatch Powderbird, a company that transports skiers by helicopter to backcountry slopes, flew the man from a base near Snowbird Resort and into Big Cottonwood Canyon, resort spokesman Brian Brown said.
The man was with seven other skiers and two guides, but nobody else was swept up in the slide, Bell said. Three in the group skied across the affected area a short time before the avalanche occurred.
The Wasatch Powderbird helicopter evacuated the skier out of the area, which is near the Snowbird and Alta resorts. From there, a medical helicopter flew him to a hospital, Bell said.
The Utah Avalanche Center categorized avalanche danger as "considerable" along the entire Wasatch Front on Tuesday. Center forecaster Craig Gordon said the risk of avalanches will only increase over the weekend thanks to incoming "strong, moist, wind-driven storms."
"There have been a number of close calls in Utah's backcountry going back (about 10 days). Even experienced backcountry riders are getting tricked," Gordon said. "We've got strong snow on (top of) weak snow. That's always a dangerous combination in UItah's mountains. … Human-triggered avalanches are likely."
Contributing: Dave Cawley, Andrew Adams
