The avalanche on December 31, 2024, occurred on the north side of Davenport Hill in the Silver Fork Drainage area of Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah. It was triggered by a soft slab of snow that failed on a layer of faceted snow, which had developed earlier in the winter.
The avalanche was approximately 300 feet wide, 2 feet deep, and traveled 400 vertical feet. Tragically, a 54-year-old male snowboarder was buried under 20 feet of snow and did not survive.
Rescue efforts, led by Wasatch Backcountry Rescue, were prompted by another skiing party who noticed tracks leading into the avalanche debris and alerted rescuers. The snowboarder was located using an avalanche transceiver.
This fatality followed another tragic incident in Millcreek Canyon on December 28, where a 38-year-old male from Quebec was also killed in an avalanche. Both incidents occurred during a period of heightened avalanche danger, with the Utah Avalanche Center UAC having issued an avalanche warning ahead of the storms.
The UAC has emphasized the dangers of unstable snow layers, particularly faceted snow, and has advised avoiding steep terrain, especially in areas facing west, north, or east, where the risk of avalanche remains considerable.