CHALK CREEK, UINTA MOUNTAINS – Jason Lyman was snowmobiling with friends on Saturday when an avalanche at least six feet deep and 500 feet wide crashed down the mountain. He tried to move out of the way but was trapped.
One of his friends had lost his probe, which means it took almost an hour to find Lyman, who later passed away from his injuries.
That’s one of the reasons the Utah Avalanche Center posted a video to Facebook to remind people about the danger.
Craig Gordon with the Utah Forest Service says, “What’s making things tricky in the Uintas right now is you can trigger avalanches from low on the slope, and they’re taking out the entire season’s snow pack.”
The snow also has a lot of water in it, making it more prone to slide.