1 dead in Big Cottonwood Canyon avalanche, marking 2nd avalanche death in 3 days

SALT LAKE CITY — One person was killed in an avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon on Tuesday.

Around noon, an avalanche was reported in the Davenport area. It is unknown what triggered the avalanche, but it was considered a “large” one, the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office said.

Deputy Arlan Bennett confirmed one person was dead, and that person’s body was recovered. The person appears to have been alone, officials said.

Bennett said investigators are unsure what the person was doing when they were caught up in the slide. The deceased’s identity has not been released.

Salt Lake County SAR later said on Facebook that the victim was found buried under 16.5 feet of snow. Rescuers were able to access the victim’s airway after about an hour of digging and began CPR, but the patient didn’t survive.

The Cottonwood canyons and other parts of the Wasatch Mountain backcountry remain in an avalanche warning, which was first issued on Friday when danger rose to “high” as water-heavy new snow fell on top of “weak, preexisting faceted snow” on the ground.

An Alta site monitored by the National Weather Service received more than 3 feet of new snow since Christmas Day, mirroring other parts of the Cottonwood canyons.

The warning notes that both human- and naturally-triggered avalanches are likely all across the Wasatch Mountains. People are urged to stay away from areas near slopes steeper than 30 degrees.

This is the second avalanche fatality in the last three days in an area under an avalanche warning. An overdue hiker from Canada was killed in an avalanche in Millcreek Canyon Saturday, and his body was recovered Tuesday.