DESCRIPTION: Jason Delecour, a snowshoer visiting from Houston, Texas, was killed in an avalanche in this narrow canyon 2-26-04. It's a very small, inocuous-looking canyon but it's what avalanche professionals call a "terrain trap", meaning that even a small avalanche can bury someone very deeply, which is exactly what happened. After heavy new snow and strong wind, Jason and a friend were snowshowing down this gully when they triggered a very small avalanche which buried him. It was only about a foot deep, 70 feet wide and descended about 60 vertical feet. It's a 40 degree, west-northwest facing slope at around 7,600'. It was new snow, which slid on top of a sun crust. The victim was not wearing a beacon or shovel. His partner ran down the road about a quarter mile to the uppermost houses on Daly Avenue to get help. Local residents and various off-duty ski patrollers reponded but it was too late to save Jason's life. This area is on the outskirts of Park City, with the closest houses only about a quarter mile away. It's a popular area to walk and the runs of the Deer Valley resort are just uphill to the left and Park City resort is just uphill to the right. The building in the photo is the Judge Mine building. This canyon is at the top of Daly Avenue, so some people call it Daly Canyon but it is also know as Empire Canyon, as it is called on the map.

COPYRIGHT: Regina White photo