Who: 42-year-old Todd Bell
Where: Hell’s Canyon, Snowbasin, Utah
His mistake: He got separated from his partner
What happened: A man and a friend planned to snowboard in No Name Canyon, an inbounds area of Snowbasin. During the run, his friend dropped in, but one of the snowboarders ended up dropping into Hell’s Canyon nearby, an out of bounds area. The snowboarder who dropped into Hell’s Canyon set off an avalanche and got buried in 6 to 8 inches of snow.
His friend had no idea where he was and waited at the bottom of No Name Canyon. But when he didn’t see him, the friend continued on their planned path. Two other snowboarders who planned on riding in Hell’s Canyon started to drop in and noticed the avalanche below them. They both saw a jacket in the debris so both rode down and searched for the victim. Neither had probes or beacons, but they were still able to find the victim and dig him out. They called 911 and tried to revive the man, but they were unsuccessful.
Authorities said the man traveled in backcountry terrain when the avalanche danger was high.
Read the story here.
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