Accident Report Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center

UPDATED-Tuesday, March 14, 2005

Taylor Canyon – One Snowboarder caught, carried and killed.

Investigation by: Lees & Kobernik, special thanks to Doug Wewer and the Snowbasin Ski patrol for helping compile data.

Location:

Sub-drainage of Taylor Canyon near Mt Allen and Mt Ogden.

(Click here for a diagram of the slide path)

(Click here for a topographic map)

(Click here for local newspaper articles)

Accident Summary:

We still have not talked directly to the witness so we are missing some information on the accident. What we do know is that two people left the Snowbasin ski area Saturday, March 11^th and headed into Taylor Canyon. Both of them were snowboarding and neither of them had avalanche rescue equipment. At around 3 pm one or both of them triggered an avalanche that caught one of them and buried him. It broke about 15’ above them. The person that was not caught searched for about an hour starting in some trees just down the slope from the fracture line which was the last place he saw the victim. The witness continued down the avalanche path with no luck locating the victim then continued out the drainage into Ogden where he alerted authorities. A helicopter was dispatched to survey the area and avalanche workers were able to locate the avalanche along with a few others that had run as well. Time was too short late in the day to dispatch an initial response team so the search was called off until morning.

Rescue Summary:

Efforts were organized early Sunday morning but weather did not permit a snow safety team to do control work on slopes that had the potential to avalanche onto the area where the search party would be. Lees and Kobernik along with G.R. of the Snowbasin patrol attempted to travel to the fracture line. Unstable snow and very radical terrain kept them from doing this safely so the mission was aborted. Some clearing was taking place by late Sunday and avalanche control work was performed. Explosives did produce avalanching that covered the initial debris pile. The initial search party was dispatched but unable to locate the victim. The Weber County Sheriff had closed the Taylor Canyon access from Snowbasin until the search is done so that potential skiers above the rescue party don’t put them in danger. On Sunday the witness was questioned by the search teams and it was determined to conduct a search in the trees near the starting zone which was the last place the victim was seen. This was not done the night before because lack of time. Dogs immediately picked up the scent and the victim was found about 150’ below the fracture line where he was hung up on a tree. It appears he was slammed into a tree and died of trauma.

Avalanche Data: (Click here for crown profile)

Viewers from the helicopter put the fracture line at around 8,400’ and it was confirmed later to be at 8,900’. It was 200 feet wide and around 2 feet deep but averaged less then a foot and ran around 1000 feet vertical. It was on a northwest facing slope 38 to 40 degrees in steepness. The debris ran into a narrow gully that was around 50 feet wide. The victim triggered a fresh wind slab that had formed the night before from southeast winds. A wind slab over light density snow was found in areas near the fracture line and we suspect that this was the culprit. The crown is now buried with some new snow but was still visible late Sunday. What was left of the crown was investigated by snow safety personal during the recovery on Monday.

Weather History: (Click here for the Avalanche Advisory for March 11^th, 2006) (Click here for seasonal weather history charts)

A rain crust was formed earlier in the month with a few other storms that landed on top of it. On Thursday, March 9^th, around 10” of light density snow fell. On Friday night, March 10^th, southeast winds picked up and blew the new snow into sensitive drifts. The light density snow under these new drifts was the weak layer and once the slide got moving it took out snow down to the rain crust.

Comments:

A copy of the Utah Avalanche Center’s daily advisory is regularly posted at the access gate to Taylor Canyon. That day it warned of fresh wind slabs and not to be surprised if you trigger an avalanche. It is not known at this time if the victims consulted the advisory. Many people consider backcountry terrain adjacent to ski resorts to be an extension of the ski resort with the same dangers as within the area boundary. Often, they ski in this terrain regularly and take for granted that the snowpack receives no avalanche control work and does not see the same amount of skier compaction as within the ski area. Since they are familiar with this terrain, it is difficult for them to pass it up when there is fresh snow to ski. However, this terrain has a backcountry snowpack where new weakness and persistent weakness can exist even though it is so close to the resort.