Winter storms last week blanketed Utah’s mountains with fresh snow, but the chase for untouched powder left three people dead, three injured and first responders reeling.
It’s been “a very hectic, very long, very tragic week,” Utah Avalanche Center forecaster Brooke Maushund said, adding that everyone “is doing their best.”
More than 70 slides have been reported in the Wasatch backcountry since Feb. 18, according to the center, including one Feb. 19 that left a little girl dead.
Crews from multiple agencies spent the last several days scrambling across mountains, with ski patrollers and even bystanders pitching in, trying to rescue people before it was too late.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Deputies with the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office stand near a patrol vehicle after an avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon near Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026.
It’s not unusual to have a busy stretch of slides, Maushund said, but what sets this season apart is the long, dry period that preceded the recent powder, “so there’s this extra scarcity mindset.”
Despite dangerous forecasts and strong safety messaging that “avalanches can kill you,” she said, “I think folks are in a bit of a ‘powder craze’ that may swing their judgment.”
It’s made for a “stressful” time for rescuers. At one point last weekend, a law enforcement agency incorrectly reported that a man caught in an avalanche had died. Officials quickly corrected their mistake, Maushund noted.
“I think what the public needs to know is ... they can count on all of us to continue doing our best, and giving them good information,” she said.
Recent spate of avalanche rescues
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) A snow slide is pictured on Mount Millicent at Brighton in Big Cottonwood Canyon on Monday, February. 23, 2026.
There have been five avalanche search-and-rescue efforts in the Wasatch backcountry since Feb. 18, when a man was killed while snowmobiling with his son.
On Sunday, another snowmobiler died in an avalanche not far from the Feb. 18 slide.
That man, a 45-year-old from Rose Park, was buried around 4:30 p.m., the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office said. By late Sunday, rescue crews called off their search because of “unstable” snow conditions but resumed early Monday, recovering the man’s body shortly before 9 a.m.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) A sign warns of avalanche terrain at Cardiff Fork in Big Cottonwood Canyon near Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026.
The girl who died Feb. 19 was an 11-year-old from Massachusetts, authorities said. She was swept up just outside the Brighton Ski Resort boundaries, where her brother “heroically” found her before she died.
And on Saturday, yet another avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon swept up two men who survived after nearby skiers jumped in to help. One remains in critical condition, according to friends who identified him as Kevin Williams, of Riverton, in a GoFundMe campaign.
That same day, a separate Big Cottonwood Canyon avalanche injured a 40-year-old man, the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office said.
‘Many folks’ underestimate ‘sidecountry’ danger
Avalanche deaths often come in clusters, Maushund said, because a weak layer of snow can sit for days or weeks before a storm suddenly dumps fresh powder on top, creating the “recipe” for a slide.
Over the past 20 years, the Utah Avalanche Center has recorded 61 deaths. The deadliest recent season was 2020-21, when seven people died, including four in a single Millcreek Canyon avalanche.
Avalanche risk is highest when recreationists leave resort boundaries and head into backcountry slopes steeper than 30 degrees, she said.
That “sidecountry” terrain — often accessible from lifts — can be especially deceptive, she said.
Utah sees more “sidecountry” avalanche deaths than any other state, according to Maushund.
These areas are alluring to skiers or snowmobilers, who see the fresh powder away from crowds and, despite signs warning of the risks, may have a false sense of security given their proximity to a resort, she said.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) A law enforcement helicopter flies over Brighton in Big Cottonwood Canyon on Monday, February. 23, 2026.
“Many folks aren’t aware of what the backcountry is, and potentially, that there’s even a hazard,” Maushund said. “You see a red rope line, and it doesn’t mean much to you, because you’re at a resort and think that you’re safe.”
“And in reality,” she said, ”you’re leaving the resort."
Maushund urged anyone venturing beyond resort boundaries to check the Utah Avalanche Center’s daily forecast, carry a beacon, shovel and probe — and never go alone.