Man killed, boy injured in avalanche at The Canyons

An avalanche at The Canyons resort in Park City left one man dead and a juvenile critically injured late Sunday morning.

The avalanche at the ski resort occurred at 11:17 a.m., according to the Summit County Sheriff's Office. Skiers who saw the crash and Canyons ski patrol teams were on the scene within minutes. Sheriff's deputies also were called to the area of the slide.

Eight minutes after the avalanche, the body of a man between the ages of 25 and 30 was found. Paramedics immediately began attempting resuscitation, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Twenty-five minutes after the first man was found, an adolescent boy was discovered and pulled from the snow and ice. He was unconscious but later was revived and taken to a Salt Lake area hospital, said Summit County Sheriff Dave Edmunds. Sunday night he was reported in critical but stable condition.

Neither the identity nor the hometown of either person was released Sunday evening, pending family notification, Edmunds said. Police did not believe Sunday that the two had any relation to one another.

The man and boy were found within bounds near the Red Pine Chutes area, according to The Canyons spokeswoman Elizabeth Dowd. Officials are unsure whether the avalanche, which they called of substantial size, started within bounds.

The Canyons has participated in aggressive avalanche control in the area of Sunday's slide, Dowd said. Explosives and other safety measures were performed within 24 hours of the fatal avalanche.

However, the Utah Avalanche Center has listed slide danger in the area of the western Uintas as considerable. The center does not list specific data for The Canyons on its Web site at www.avalanche.org.

Sunday's fatal slide caused The Canyons resort's second death within just eight days. On Dec. 17, a Park City attorney died after striking a tree and breaking his neck near the Lower Crowning Glory run at the resort.

So far in winter 2007, Utah has seen three injury-causing avalanche accidents. according to the avalanche center. The first two occurred Dec. 13 at Pioneer Ridge and Hidden Canyon, both in the Salt Lake area.

In the 2006-2007 winter season, Utah had seven injury-causing avalanches. At least 10 people were hurt in locations ranging from Ogden to the Uintas to Salt Lake City. Utah also had five injury-causing avalanches in the previous winter season and nine the year before.

Avalanche experts recommend that skiers, snowmobilers and snowboarders learn about the dangers of slides before hitting the slopes. They also recommend carrying safety gear such as beacons, probes, shovels and a lightweight backpack. Most avalanche victims have only 15 minutes to live after being buried in snow, according to the avalanche center.

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