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Utah Backcountry Avalanche Kills 11-Year-Old Massachusetts Skier

Police report her brother located her with an app, with helicopter access blocked by hazardous terrain.

Overview

  • The slide struck the out-of-bounds Rock Garden area near Brighton shortly after 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 19, according to police.
  • Family members and more than 20 bystanders began a companion rescue, and her brother used an app to pinpoint her location under the snow.
  • Ski patrollers from Brighton and Solitude, with Wasatch Backcountry Rescue, treated her on the mountain before an ambulance took her to a hospital, where she died.
  • The Utah Avalanche Center reported over 40 recent avalanches and cautioned that backcountry danger remained high in the Wasatch.
  • In Massachusetts and Utah, schools, youth soccer clubs, and local police organized counseling and shared tributes; authorities also detailed a separate Feb. 18 fatal avalanche near Midway involving a snowmobiler.