This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A skier narrowly escaped an avalanche he triggered near Brighton, demonstrating the danger of slides on north-facing slopes.
The skier was on Pioneer Ridge, west of Brighton, on Thursday morning when he released a slab that took out nearly all the snow on the steep, north-facing slope below him, exposing the ground under the snowpack.
"Luckily, he was not carried down because it would have been difficult to survive the rocky, steep ride," wrote staff at the Utah Avalanche Center, which reported the slide Friday.
All slopes from the northwest to the east are under an avalanche advisory of "considerable" risk above 9,500 feet, the center wrote on Friday.