Boy remains unconscious after avalanche at Canyons

An 11-year-old boy buried in an avalanche for more than a half-hour still had not regained consciousness Monday, a day after he and two adults were caught in a slide in an inbounds area at The Canyons ski resort in Summit County, according to the county sheriff's office.

But officials remained optimistic about the boy's prognosis Monday. He was listed in critical but stable condition at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City, said Sheriff's Sgt. Justin Martinez. At the family's request, the name of the boy and where he is from were not released Monday.

Also Monday, the name of the man killed in Sunday's slide was released. Jesse R. Williams, 30, of Grand Junction, Colo., was killed in the avalanche.

Williams and his wife, Gina Marie Williams, and their 2-year-old daughter, Keely, had lived in Grand Junction for about five years, said Williams' father-in-law Jim Coe of Park City. He was originally from the Salt Lake and Park City areas, Coe said. Williams and his family were in Utah visiting family for Christmas.

"You couldn't time it worse if you tried," Coe said of the tragedy. "He was a great guy. He was a good father and a very good husband."

Williams was an experienced skier who was a volunteer member of the Powderhorn Ski Resort just outside of Grand Junction, Colo.

"We just found out what happened," resort spokeswoman Sarah Allen said Monday afternoon. "He was a great husband, great patroller, just an awesome guy. Our whole patrol staff is really grieving today. Our patrollers are having a hard time today."

About 11:17 a.m. Sunday, the avalanche occurred in the Red Pine Chutes area of the resort, an inbounds trail off the Ninety-nine 90 chair lift. The slide started inbounds and caught three skiers in its path before stopping in an out-of-bounds area, said resort spokeswoman Elizabeth Dowd.

The Utah Avalanche Center Monday said the slide was 3 feet to 5 feet deep and 175 feet wide. Williams' body was found less than 10 minutes after the ski patrol was notified of the slide.

Williams was skiing with a friend when the slide broke lose behind him. The friend later told Coe that while he was above where the slide started, Williams was caught right in its path.

"The report I got was they were coming down a chute. They were inbounds. ... Jesse always obeyed the rules," Coe said. "It carried Jesse down the hill."

Williams wasn't buried deep in the snow, but he hit a tree. It was the impact of the collision that killed him almost instantly, according to Coe.