24-year-old Salt Lake man killed in avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon

BIG COTTONWOOD CANYON — Two days before Alecsander Barton's 25th birthday, he headed to the mountains with two friends to take advantage of Utah's backcountry in Big Cottonwood Canyon.

Characterized by officials as an experienced backcountry traveler, Barton and his friends were equipped with avalanche beacons. But of the two outdoorsmen to trigger slides in the canyon Saturday, Barton would be the one who wouldn't make it out alive.

The 24-year-old man was killed after being caught in an avalanche in the Mineral Falls area of the canyon around 11:30 a.m., Unified Police Lt. Justin Hoyal said.

Barton and his friends set out from an area halfway up the canyon near Blind Miner's Mine and made their way to the top of Kessler Peak, at the apex of Big and Little Cottonwood canyons. Barton, who was on a snowboard, accidentally triggered the slide that measured 700 feet wide at a time when the avalanche danger was classified as high, the Utah Avalanche Center reported.

Barton's two friends were not caught in the avalanche and escaped without harm. They called 911 and went to the aid of their friend.

"Rescuers were flown up to the scene by Wasatch Powderbird, and when they got there, the two witnesses up there … had actually found their friend, and he was deceased," Hoyal said.

Police reported that the men had come equipped with avalanche beacons but still were in an extremely dangerous area.

Barton's death came on the heels of a slew of avalanche warnings prompted by heavy snowfall and weak snowpack.

"The backcountry conditions are extremely dangerous," Hoyal said. "This is a sad reminder for people to know that conditions are so extreme right now that people need to stay out of the backcountry."

The Utah Avalanche Center reported Saturday that Barton was on a snowboard when he unintentionally triggered the avalanche. In its preliminary accident report, the center said the avalanche carried Barton 2,400 feet before he was caught in the bottom of the slide.

"His two companions switched their avalanche transceivers to receive, descended the slope and extricated their friend, buried under 3 feet of debris," the report states.

 The center issued an advisory early Saturday classifying the danger level as "considerable," but Craig Gordon of the Utah Avalanche Center said the rating was at a level four or "high" rating on the upper, steep slopes.