Two men were buried in an avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon on Saturday, leaving one critically wounded and the other seriously injured.
The man critically hurt was 57, according to Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera. The man seriously wounded was 48. Neither was immediately identified.
“We believe they’re both local,” Rivera said, “because their families responded to the hospital very quickly.”
The men were backcountry skiing near the canyon’s Butler Fork Trailhead around 10 a.m. when they triggered the avalanche, Rivera said.
Eight nearby skiers who witnessed the slide helped pull the men from the snow, she said.
From the site of the slide, a Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter was able to hoist the men and carry them to the Cardiff Fork Trailhead. There, an ambulance took them to Intermountain Medical Center.
“Thank you to the skiers on scene who acted immediately and began rescue efforts in challenging conditions,” Rivera said in a news release. “Anyone recreating in the backcountry should check avalanche forecasts, carry proper safety equipment, and ensure they are fully prepared before heading into the mountains.”
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Deputies with the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office stand near their vehicle following a search-and-rescue operation after an avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon near Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026.
Search and rescue crews with the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Saturday avalanche, along with crews from the Unified Police and Fire departments, Rivera said.
This marked the third avalanche search-and-rescue effort in the Wasatch Mountains since Wednesday, when a man was killed in a slide while snowmobiling with his son.
On Thursday, an 11-year-old Massachusetts girl died after she was swept up in a backcountry avalanche just outside the boundaries of Brighton Ski Resort.
In total, more than 40 avalanches have been reported in backcountry areas outside the Salt Lake Valley over the last few days, including “several close calls,” according to the Utah Avalanche Center.
Avalanche danger remains high through the weekend.