Utah Avalanche Cycle Kills Two
A relentless avalanche cycle in Utah has killed two people and injured three over recent days, including a Butler Basin rescue on February 21 where two people were buried and one critically injured. Authorities warn that avalanche conditions remain dangerous as warming trends destabilize snowpacks throughout the Rockies and Wasatch. Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park reports all major Longs Peak routes are still fully covered in snow and ice, requiring full winter equipment and avalanche safety knowledge.
- The recent storm cycle that brought up to 49 inches of snow to some Utah resorts fell on a weak snowpack that had formed during a prolonged dry spell from early January through February. This created a "persistent weak layer" of faceted snow, which is now buried and prone to triggering large avalanches. - The Butler Basin avalanche on February 21 was a soft slab avalanche unintentionally triggered by the skiers as they were ascending. The slide was 2 feet deep, 250 feet wide, and ran for 100 vertical feet on a 38-degree, north-facing slope. - The two individuals in the Butler Basin incident were fully buried before another group of skiers witnessed the slide and performed the initial rescue. A 57-year-old male was flown to a hospital in critical condition, and a 48-year-old male was transported by ambulance in serious condition. - The two fatalities preceding the Butler Basin incident included an 11-year-old girl skiing out of bounds near Brighton Resort on February 19 and an adult male snowmobiler killed on February 18 in the Snake Creek area, west of Midway. - These three fatalities are the first of Utah's 2025-2026 season. Historically, Utah has averaged about 3.13 avalanche deaths per year over the last 30 years. - The Utah Avalanche Center issued a statewide avalanche warning for the weekend of February 21-23, rating the danger as "HIGH" (level 4 out of 5) for many areas. This indicates that natural avalanches are possible and human-triggered avalanches are likely. - The dangerous conditions in Utah are part of a broader trend in the Western U.S. that has seen a deadly February. On February 17, a major avalanche near Lake Tahoe, California, killed eight skiers, marking the deadliest single avalanche in the United States in 45 years. - After a record-slow start to the winter, this recent storm cycle has increased Utah's snow water equivalent, but the statewide snowpack remains at near-record lows. As of early February, there was only an estimated 10 percent chance of reaching a normal peak snowpack for the season.
