Avalanche Area

Utah Avalanche Buries Snowcat And Severely Injures Two Passengers

Spring is bringing sunny skies and warm temperatures to much of the country. However, winter storms are still hitting hard in parts of the American west. Earlier this week, an avalanche buried a snowcat vehicle. The piece of heavy machinery is what triggered the avalanche, to begin with. Search and rescue teams arrived on the scene quickly and used the jaws of life to rescue the two men. Fox News has the original story.

One of them was airlifted to the hospital with a significant leg injury while the other had a bad head injury. “Despite the challenging conditions and the treacherous terrain, personnel worked diligently to ensure that everyone involved was rescued safely,” rescue officials said. “We encourage everyone to always check the weather and snow conditions, carry essential safety equipment, and stay within designated areas”

There have been a startling number of avalanche fatalities in America over the last few years. Across 2022 and 2023, at least 21 people have been killed by avalanches. That number is up compared to the 17 people killed by avalanches the year prior.

Washington Avalanche Kills Three Victims

3 of those 21 people died in a single avalanche in Washington state earlier this year. It was one of the deadliest avalanches in recent history.

According to reports, the victims were in a group of six people. At the time, they were trying to scale a section of the Colchuck Peak. According to local authorities, one of the lead climbers prompted the avalanche.

As a result, four climbers were hurtled nearly 500 feet down the mountain. Those who died in the avalanche were later identified as a 60-year-old woman, a 66-year-old man, and a 53-year-old man.

In addition, a 56-year-old man sustained non-life-threatening injuries and could get to the base camp on his own. The sheriff’s office also said the incident didn’t hurt two others.

Professional Skier Films Himself Trapped

While skiing in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, professional skier Owen Leeper found himself caught in a devastating avalanche – filming the entire brutal fall with the GoPro attached to his helmet.

Leeper, a professional big mountain skier, was filming himself with both a GoPro and a drone camera as he made his way down a steep chute in the backcountry. Suddenly, the snow gives way beneath him, the skier letting out an ‘Oh, sh-t!’ as he loses his footing and falls to the ground, the river of snow pulling him rapidly toward the cliff.

As the avalanche picks up speed, the skier’s head bashes violently against the rocks on the way down the mountain, his helmet the only thing protecting his skull from the many jagged surfaces. 

Somehow, Leeper made it out of the incident with only a dislocated shoulder and a gash on his knee. “I feel very lucky I made it out with minor injuries,” he said.