Narrow escape for Utah snowmobiler caught in avalanche on Christmas Eve

The avalanche debris and snowmobile from an accident in Logan's Steep Hollow that buried and injured one as his brother and father looked on. Photo: Utah Avalanche Center

UTAH – A Christmas Eve snowmobile outing in Utah’s Logan Canyon nearly turned catastrophic for two brothers and their father after they triggered an avalanche that buried one of them.

The group of three, Braeden and Hunter Hansen and their father, had ventured into Steep Hollow when one of the brothers, side-hilling beneath a cliff band, triggered the slide. As the slope fractured and rippled around him, he managed to steer his sled off the north flank of the avalanche, narrowly escaping its path, a Utah Avalanche Center report said.

From his vantage point, Hansen watched in horror as the cascading snow engulfed his older brother, who was standing beside his sled below. The avalanche carried the brother and his sled approximately 150 yards down the slope, through a stand of trees, partially burying the sled and completely burying him beneath the debris.

The father, positioned below the avalanche’s path, immediately switched his transceiver to search mode and attempted to climb toward the avalanche’s toe. However, the deep, sugary snow was completely unsupportive, causing him to sink waist-deep with every step, rendering the climb impossible. Meanwhile, the younger brother began an efficient rescue using his transceiver. Following a systematic search pattern, he quickly locked onto a signal and, moments later, spotted a couple of fingers from his brother’s gloved hand protruding from the snow.

After digging him out, they discovered the older brother had suffered a broken leg in the slide. Remarkably, he was able to double up on his younger brother’s sled and ride out of the backcountry.

Two days later, on December 26, the family returned to the site to recover the damaged sled and airbag. The older brother’s airbag had deployed during the avalanche but was badly torn, and the sled was bent and broken—testament to the brutal force of the slide as it dragged both the rider and equipment through a stand of trees. The incident highlights the perilous nature of backcountry travel and the critical importance of avalanche preparedness.

It was a much different outcome compared to another avalanche that happened in Cache County 16 years ago on Christmas Eve.

“It was actually a party of four young men who rode up Providence Canyon and only about maybe 15 minutes from Logan, when somebody, one or two of the party of four, triggered the avalanche,” Toby Weed, a forecaster with the Utah Avalanche Center said.

Two riders, 22-year-old Erik Jorgensen and 23-year-old Jesse Johnson, both from Utah, were killed.

Weed shared tips about how to avoid avalanche dangers similar to the deadly incident nearly two decades ago.

“Number one, always access and read the forecast. The forecast that day, was for considerable avalanche danger, and that’s actually the same danger that it is here in Logan today,” he said.

The avalanche danger level is expected to be high this weekend, which drives home the importance of taking a look at all the forecasts available for those going up into the backcountry.