Observer Name
Braeden Hansen, UAC staff
Observation Date
Tuesday, December 24, 2024
Avalanche Date
Tuesday, December 24, 2024
Region
Logan » Franklin Basin » Steep Hollow
Location Name or Route
Steep Hollow, Box Canyon Headwall
Elevation
9,000'
Aspect
Northeast
Slope Angle
Unknown
Trigger
Snowmobiler
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Weak Layer
Facets
Depth
2'
Width
700'
Vertical
500'
Caught
1
Carried
1
Buried - Fully
1
Injured
1
Accident and Rescue Summary
On Christmas Eve, Hyde Park brothers, 27-year-old Braeden and 29-year-old Hunter, went for a snowmobile ride with their father Brandon in Franklin Basin out of Logan Canyon. The party was well-equipped and prepared for mountain riding, and they planned to keep their speed down and stay out of steep terrain due to shallow and rocky early-season snow conditions. Each rider wore an avalanche airbag backpack and an avalanche transceiver. Each carried a shovel and probe, and a hand-held radio for communication. They'd read the avalanche forecast and knew there were dangerous avalanche conditions on drifted upper-elevation slopes in the area.
They rode up into the lower-angle meadows in Steep Hollow and were surprised by the good riding conditions. They continued to make their way up into the upper reaches of Steep Hollow, a classic box canyon.
Hunter was the first one to ride onto the steep slope, a convex bowl beneath a broad cliff band. He stopped near a small group of trees on the steep slope and stepped off his sled. Braeden then followed his brother's tracks onto the slope veering left and was climbing, side-hilling diagonally across the bowl when he triggered the avalanche. He saw the slope ripple around his sled but could continue his traverse, and accelerate off the avalanche's north flank into a broad, more southerly facing part of the bowl.
As he traversed, he watched as the avalanche fracture zippered back across the slope for several hundred feet under the cliff band. He saw the avalanche catch, sweep up, and rapidly carry his older brother and his new sled down the hill and through a small group of trees. Hunter deployed his avalanche airbag within seconds when he realized he was caught by the torrent of snow. The avalanche carried him and his sled down the slope for around 150 yards and through the group of trees, which ripped a large hole in the airbag and bent the sled's tunnel around its track. The slide came to a stop after mostly burying the sled, and completely burying Hunter.
The brothers' father, Brandon was stuck below the slope, his sled's tracks spun down into bottomless sugary snow near the ground. He'd used his cell phone to capture a video of his son climbing the bowl. As soon as he saw the avalanche, he pocketed the phone, switched his transceiver into search mode, and attempted to climb up to the toe of the avalanche. The snow was deep and completely unsupportable. He sank to the ground, wallowing up to his waist in the faceted snow, and could not make any headway.
After the avalanche stopped, Braeden brought his sled around to the top of the large pile of debris, switched his transceiver to search mode, and began working across the debris toward the area where he'd last seen his brother engulfed in the slide, searching for a signal. He quickly picked up the beeping signal from Hunter's transceiver, and it led him close enough to see a couple of fingers of his brother's gloved hand sticking out of the snow a few feet uphill and to the right of the handlebars of his mostly buried sled.
After his recovery, Hunter, who later found out that he'd broken a leg in the accident, doubled up with his brother and was able to ride out of the backcountry.
On December 26, We went up to the accident site and recovered the bent-up and broken sled and a badly ripped airbag that Hunter deployed when the avalanche caught him. The damage to the sled, the airbag, and the rider was caused by all being dragged violently through a group of trees by the avalanche.
Snow Profile Comments
I was in a different part of Steep Hollow, yesterday on 12-23. This is a snow profile from about 8500' on a northwest-facing slope in the same drainage.
Comments
This report is still being completed...
Comments
Fox News published the following story on 12-24-24: https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/northern-utah/brothers-survive-cache-county-avalanche-despite-one-being-buried-in-snow
Brothers survive Cache County avalanche despite one being buried in snow
Posted 9:01 PM, Dec 24, 2024 and last updated 9:05 PM, Dec 24, 2024
Brothers survive Cache County avalanche despite one being buried in snow
Posted 9:01 PM, Dec 24, 2024 and last updated 9:05 PM, Dec 24, 2024
CACHE COUNTY, Utah — Two brothers are home safe after being caught in an avalanche on Christmas Eve morning in the Steep Hollow area of Franklin Basin in Cache County.
"Those guys had a very, very lucky Christmas Eve," explained Toby Weed, a forecaster with the Utah Avalanche Center.
The men were out for a ride on snowmobiles when one of them riding across a slope or “side-hilling” triggered the avalanche. One of the men was caught up in the avalanche and was carried about 150 yards and buried.
Luckily, Weed said both men had the equipment necessary for backcountry travel.
"The brother who was not buried used his transceiver to find the brother who was buried, and it got him pretty close," said Weed, "and when he got close enough, he could see a couple fingers sticking out of the snow of his brother and was able to dig him out."
The brother who was buried suffered just minor injuries and both men were able to ride out of the area. It was a much different outcome compared to another avalanche that happened in Cache County 16 years ago on Christmas Eve.
"It was actually a party of four young men who rode up Providence Canyon and only about maybe 15 minutes from Logan, when somebody, one or two of the party of four, triggered the avalanche," Weed said.
Two riders, 22-year-old Erik Jorgensen and 23-year-old Jesse Johnson, both from Utah, were killed.
Weed shared tips about how to avoid avalanche dangers similar to the deadly incident nearly two decades ago.
"Number one, always access and read the forecast. The forecast that day, was for considerable avalanche danger, and that's actually the same danger that it is here in Logan today," he said.
The avalanche danger level is expected to be high this weekend, which drives home the importance of taking a look at all the forecasts available for those going up into the backcountry.
Comments
The incident was discussed on NBC National News on Christmas night.
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