Cottonwood Heights man swept away, killed in avalanche

Cottonwood Heights man swept away, killed in avalanche

January 27th, 2010 @ 9:19pm

BIG COTTONWOOD CANYON -- Avalanche forecasters say the slide danger is unusually high right now, and Wednesday marked the second deadly avalanche in less than a week. Rescuers had to cut down some trees to retrieve the body of the backcountry skier, who was swept more than 800 feet down a slope.

"I don't know if any area is really safe at this time. Obviously, when you hit the right slope in these conditions, any area where an avalanche could occur, it may occur," said Unified police Lt. Don Hutson.
It started as a day enjoying the fresh powder in the backcountry area called The Meadows, which is just outside of Solitude Resort. Three friends, including 51-year-old Ricardo Presnell, were heading down the slope when police say they triggered a large avalanche, 800 feet long and 400 feet across.
‘They felt, essentially, the entire slope slough off; and then it was just a powder storm, and they ended up near the bottom of the slide," Hutson said.
When the snow settled, Presnell was completely buried. His two friends called emergency crews for help, pulled out a beacon and started searching. They found Presnell buried beneath 4 feet of snow, in a wooded area, not breathing and with no pulse.
"Not only is it just being buried in the snow, but this particular slide went through a grove of trees, and so there's significant injury as well as being trapped by snow," Hutson said.
Presnell was pronounced dead at the scene. He was buried for more than 15 minutes , but probably died of blunt-force trauma, Hutson said.
Presnell's death was the second in an avalanche in less than a week in Utah canyons. Over the weekend, a 42-year-old skier was killed when he got caught in an avalanche in the backcountry near Snowbasin Resort, known as Hell's Canyon.
Avalanche forecasters warn the conditions are particularly dangerous right now.
"In the past week we've had a lot of close calls. There have been dozens of unintentionally-triggered avalanches, and now two fatalities," Gordon says. "So, people who even have a lot of backcountry experience -- years of experience in the mountains -- are getting tricked by these conditions."
It is extremely high danger, and when that is the circumstance, regardless of your preparation and classes that you may have taken or equipment you may have with you, sometimes there's just nothing you can do when you're caught in an avalanche," Hutson said.
Presnell was a geologist for Kennecott for more than 20 years; he most recently worked as a consultant. Kennecott sends their condolences to his family.
Police say Presnell was married and lived in Cottonwood Heights.
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Story compiled with contributions from Jennifer Stagg, Marc Giauque and AP writer Paul Foy.

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