Travis Jacobson, a 28-year-old sledder in a party of 5 from the Layton area was buried by a large avalanche and then rapidly recovered by his partners near Millville Peak. Apparently, he was unconscious and unresponsive when recovered by beacon, but spontaneously began to breath when his airway was cleared. Travis recovered well on scene. He refused transport from a medical helicopter and was able to make it back down to the Providence Canyon trailhead under his own power.
We were not able to visit the site of the accident due to stormy weather, poor visibility, and continuing dangerous avalanche conditions in the area.
Plots out on a south southwest facing slope at around 8800' in elevation.
Travis wore an avalanche airbag, but was unable to deploy it because the avalanche engulfed him so quickly. The quick thinking, well equipped, and recently trained party saved the Travis's life after he was buried by this large avalanche. They found him him quickly following a beacon signal and unburied his head and chest. He was blue and unconscious, and his rescuers cleared his airway.
The party believe that they remote triggered the avalanche from a pretty good distance while Travis and one other rider were a good distance below the slope that avalanched dealing with a stuck sled.
Media Reports:
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=28685767 http://fox13now.com/2014/02/11/avalanche-reported-in-cache-county/
http://news.hjnews.com/news/article_cbc6bbc6-9372-11e3-a5ef-001a4bcf887a.html
I took these pictures of the blown-in avalanche on 2-21-2014
