Deadly avalanche cycle batters Utah backcountry, killing two and injuring three in days of rescues

A view of the avalanche in Butler Basin where two people were injured, one critically, after the slide buried them on Feb. 21, 2026. Photo: Utah Avalanche Center

SALT LAKE CITY — A powerful winter storm followed by rapidly changing conditions has triggered a string of avalanches across northern Utah, leaving two people dead — including an 11-year-old girl — and three others hospitalized in separate backcountry incidents over several days.

Authorities say the fatalities mark the first avalanche-related deaths of the 2025-26 winter season, as more than 50 avalanches were reported statewide in less than 48 hours after a major storm dropped several feet of snow on mountains already weakened by a prolonged dry spell.

The most recent rescues unfolded Saturday in Big Cottonwood Canyon, where two separate avalanches occurred hours apart.

Around 10 a.m., two skiers were caught and buried in a slide near Butler Fork, according to the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office. A nearby group of skiers witnessed the avalanche, called for help and began digging the men out before search and rescue crews arrived.

A 57-year-old man was flown by medical helicopter to a hospital in critical condition. A 48-year-old man was transported by ambulance in serious condition. Authorities said the skiers likely triggered the avalanche themselves.

“This is a dangerous time up here in the canyon,” Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said, emphasizing the importance of carrying proper avalanche safety equipment.

Later that afternoon, at about 2:45 p.m., a second avalanche struck near Days Fork in the same canyon. A 40-year-old man skiing in the backcountry with a group was caught and carried by the slide. He sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was located and evacuated by rescue crews.

The weekend incidents came just days after two fatal avalanches elsewhere in northern Utah.

On Feb. 19, an avalanche near Brighton Resort killed 11-year-old Madelyn Eitas of Rochester, Massachusetts, according to the Unified Police Department. Officers received reports of the slide shortly after 12:30 p.m., and family members and more than 20 bystanders began searching immediately.

Police said her brother used a cellphone application to help locate her beneath the snow. She was transported to a hospital in critical condition but later died.

On February 18, an adult man was killed in an avalanche in Wasatch County’s Big Flats area, west of Midway. The Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office said the man and his minor son were snowmobiling between Snake Creek and Ant Knolls when the slide occurred around 4 p.m.

Due to hazardous conditions, search and rescue teams were unable to immediately access the site. The boy located his father using an avalanche beacon and dug him out, but the man had died.

In a separate close call on the same day, a backcountry skiing party of three was caught in an avalanche near the Nutty Putty area off the Park City ridgeline after exiting through the Peak 5 backcountry gate. The group had been navigating toward lower-angle terrain when, moments after stopping, they were struck by what observers believe was a remotely triggered storm slab originating higher on the slope.

Two members of the party were carried by the slide. One was partially buried, while the other was fully buried with only a boot visible above the debris. Both survived without injury. The third member of the group was not hit.

The Utah Avalanche Center has warned of high avalanche danger in the backcountry following the storm cycle, cautioning that heavy snowfall layered over weaker snowpack can create unstable conditions capable of producing large and deadly slides.

Officials continue to urge backcountry users to check avalanche forecasts, carry rescue gear — including a beacon, shovel and probe — and avoid steep terrain during periods of elevated danger.

Today, avalanche danger is considerable, according to the Utah Avalanche Center’s Salt Lake forecast.

“Today is not the day to be in steep avalanche terrain. That means staying off of — and out from under — slopes steeper than 30 degrees. Large, destructive, and potentially deadly slab avalanches are likely,” the report stated.