I spoke with the female that was caught and buried in the avalanche. She described the day to me and it is a common scenario that other people have had happen to them before. It’s a scenario that could easily happen to many of us in the future.
The group of three (herself, another female and a male photographer) were shooting photos within the Alta Ski Area during the day. It was one of those days with beautiful snow, great weather and everything was just coming together for them. The invigorating conditions and bliss of the day is what clouded their judgement, in her opinion. Again, this is a common theme that can happen to anyone.
They were not intending to go into the backcountry on this day, hence why some of the party did not have all of their normal avalanche gear. However, as the day went on, it was decided that they would make the very short journey to a popular slope for photographing skiers and snowboarders. They had read the avalanche advisory for that day and understood it. Human triggered avalanches were likely on such slopes. The awesome day that was in progress, the familiarity with the slope, as well as the perception of the slope being so small and not dangerous overrode their knowledge of the avalanche conditions.
It was decided that the victim would go first since she was carrying all of her normal avalanche gear. Once she was on the slope and realized she had triggered the avalanche, she immediately deployed her avalanche airbag and started the ride downhill. She was on the surface and was purposely swimming for a group of trees which she managed to get to and grab a hold of, stopping herself briefly. The second portion of the avalanche that released sympathetically overcame her and she was not able to hold on. She was carried to the bottom and the rescue played out as described by the people who were there.
A note on airbags: While it has been shown that airbags are not all that effective in terrain traps like this one, I speculate that it was helpful in preventing a deeper burial. My guess is that it made it easier for her to swim toward the trees, which in turn slowed her progress to the bottom, and allowed more snow to move passed her before she came to a rest. More than likely, during the second part of the ride, she remain closer to the surface which also helped prevent a deeper burial. Just my two cents.
This scenario is a common theme and can happen to even the most experienced backcountry travelers. The lure of the deep Utah powder is strong and it can influence even the most experienced and cautious people. The victim was very candid when I spoke with her and I want to thank her for sharing her experience. It was a perfect outcome to a bad situation that we can all learn from.
