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AMERICAN FORK CANYON — A Brigham Young University student snowshoeing with friends Saturday was trapped in an avalanche in American Fork Canyon.
Ashleigh Nicole Cox, 21, did not have a pulse when she was rescued, but Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Cannon said she seemed to be improving Saturday night. On her way to the hospital, Cox was in cardiac arrest, but doctors were able to revive her, he said.
Cox was snowshoeing with a group of friends in steep terrain not far from Tibble Fork Reservoir. At about 5:40, they triggered a slide.
Cannon said Cox was buried for roughly 20 minutes before rescue crews arrived and it took another 20 minutes to retrieve her from the snow.
She was taken to American Fork Hospital and has since been moved to the trauma unit at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, where she was listed in critical condition.
Cannon said the slide was relatively short and narrow, extending roughly 80 yards, but was located on a steep hill. He said the location of the avalanche is not considered a backcountry or wilderness area, but new snow in the area was wet and heavy.
The area is very popular for snowshoeing and tubing. But Cannon said people don't have to go very far off the road to get into areas where there's a significant risk of avalanches.
"(The Utah Department of Transportation) clears the roads and maintains them during the winter to keep them clear, but this time of year, with this kind of weather conditions, might not be real advisable to be in the area doing this," he said.
The Utah Avalanche Center forecast a high avalanche danger bordering on extreme this weekend for Salt Lake and Provo area mountains.
There were reports of several other spontaneous slides in the canyon as well. Some of the snow made it to the road, prompting sheriff's deputies to close portions of state Route 92 and state Route 144.
A UDOT crew was assessing the situation late Saturday night, and had yet to determine how long the roads would be closed.
Contributing: Ben Wood
