Avalanche: Hells Canyon

From the 2004-2005 Utah Avalanche Center Annual Report

Late December snows brought as much as 2’ of snow to the Ogden mountains accompanied by gusty southerly winds. On the 31st, four backcountry recreationists each unintentionally triggered a slab avalanche in the new snow about a foot deep, with one taking a 100’ ride. The danger had been Considerable or High for the past couple days, with an Avalanche Warning continuing through the New Year. That day, a party of five rode a lift at Snowbasin to access Hell’s Canyon, an out of bounds area just north of the ski area boundary. The party had skied the terrain numerous times over the years, however, the terrain is steep and complex with numerous starting zones over the 1000+ feet of relief. In the upper section, in an area known as ‘Lust’ (the seven major portions of Hell’s Canyon named after the seven deadly sins), the party triggered a small slab that quickly expanded to 100’ wide, catching and carrying three of the five over 1000’ down to the confluence of another runout area (Gluttony).

Luck singularly landed the three beacon-less men on top of the debris, though one sustained a fractured femur. The two that were not caught made their way to the accident site and were helping their friends when another party from above triggered a second, larger avalanche down upon them. The initial party narrowly escaped a second disaster, as the second debris pile covered the first with over 6’ of debris. Ski patrollers from the Snowbasin patrol responded to the accident and called in a medical helicopter, which airlifted the seriously injured man to the hospital.

3 skiers caught and carried 1800', partially buried, one seriously injured with a broken femur