Observer Name
Staples via third party
Observation Date
Saturday, January 13, 2024
Avalanche Date
Saturday, January 13, 2024
Region
Provo » American Fork
Location Name or Route
American Fork Canyon
Elevation
10,000'
Aspect
Northeast
Trigger
Snowmobiler
Trigger: additional info
Unintentionally Triggered
Caught
3
Carried
3
Buried - Partly
2
Buried - Fully
1
Accident and Rescue Summary
Three people caught. Sounds like it was a group of 5. Another group was nearby and assisted in the rescue.
- One saw the avalanche start, he deployed his airbag and was partially buried with his arm sticking out enough that he was able to dig himself out
- Another was going downhill. He was ultimately buried several feet deep or more and buried for about 5 minutes. He lost consciousness and had a thought that he was going to die. He was recovered by another group and had already started turning blue but was fortunately ok. They located this person using avalanche rescue gear.
- The third was parked on a bump or a bluff or a high spot that he thought was safe. He saw the avalnache happen but didn't think it would reach him. The avalanche propagated further and ultimately broke above this person and buried him with his hand sticking out. The other two members of the group down in the flats saw his snowmobile partially buried. As the approached the snowmobile, they saw his had sticking out and were able to dig him out immediately.
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