A family outing in Utah's backcountry turned fatal on Thursday when an avalanche buried a girl estimated to be between 10 and 13 years old just outside the limits of Brighton Ski Resort, east of Salt Lake City. Authorities say two family members tried to find her before the resort's ski patrol, Wasatch Backcountry Rescue teams, and officials from the Wasatch County Sheriff's Office arrived at the scene shortly before 1pm and used drones in their search, per NBC News. The girl, whose name hasn't been released, was dug out along the slide path and taken to a hospital in critical condition, where she later died. She wasn't wearing an avalanche beacon, a police spokesperson said.
The slide occurred in uncontrolled terrain beyond the resort's boundaries, in an area known as the Rock Garden, reports FOX 13. Brighton stressed that portion of slope is neither monitored nor maintained for avalanche risks, per NBC. The resort told ABC4 that it didn't have to shut down or otherwise alter its operations due to the avalanche. "The conditions are ever changing with the unpredictable snowpack," Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said in a statement. "This incident is a reminder that avalanches can happen in an instant."
The girl's death comes amid avalanche warnings across much of Utah due to heavy snow and strong winds creating unstable conditions, per the Utah Avalanche Center. On Wednesday, a man was killed in a separate avalanche in the nearby Snake Creek region; his son used a beacon to locate him, but the man didn't survive. The incidents follow what officials say was the deadliest US avalanche in nearly 45 years near Lake Tahoe earlier this week.
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