Fatal avalanche kills child skiing out of bounds near Brighton Ski Resort

Salt Lake County Sheriff's vehicle Photo: Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office

"In just two days, we have experienced two devastating avalanche fatalities affecting parents, children, and the broader community. These are huge red flags, and we need to slow down and rethink our choices." ~ Utah Avalanche Center

BRIGHTON, Utah — An 11-year-old girl died Thursday after being buried by an avalanche in an out-of-bounds area adjacent to Brighton Ski Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon.

The Utah Avalanche Center confirmed the fatality occurred Feb. 19 in the backcountry near Brighton, the second avalanche death in the region in two days. A snowmobiler died Wednesday in the Big Flat area of Snake Creek near Midway.

According to Fox13, the girl was skiing with two family members in an area known as The Rock Garden when the group triggered an avalanche just after 12:45 p.m. Brighton Ski Patrol and Wasatch Backcountry Rescue responded to the scene, where the girl had been buried for up to 30 minutes. She was transported by ambulance to a hospital in critical condition. A Life Flight helicopter was dispatched but turned back due to high winds and the absence of a safe landing zone. Unified Police later confirmed she died of her injuries.

The girl’s identity has not been released.

The Utah Avalanche Center is rating avalanche danger as HIGH on upper- and mid-elevation slopes facing northwest through north and east. In a statement, the UAC said: “In just two days, we have experienced two devastating avalanche fatalities affecting parents, children, and the broader community. These are huge red flags, and we need to slow down and rethink our choices.”

Officials say recent storms have produced widespread and unstable snowpack conditions, with slabs breaking two to four feet deep across the Salt Lake zone. The UAC recorded at least 40 additional avalanches in the area over the same two-day period.

Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera urged backcountry users to check the daily avalanche forecast, carry a beacon, shovel and probe, and avoid steep terrain altogether when conditions are unstable. “Leaving a ski resort boundary means entering uncontrolled, unpatrolled backcountry terrain,” Rivera said.

Utah Avalanche Center Forecast