Snowboarder dies after being trapped in an avalanche in Utah
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A 24-year-old male snowboarder has died after becoming trapped in an avalanche in a steep Utah backcountry area that the public was warned to avoid after potent snowstorms.
The death marks the ninth avalanche fatality in the West this season, and experts say the risk of additional slides could remain high all winter.
Unified police Lt. Justin Hoyal says the latest victim was with two other men when the avalanche occurred Saturday morning in the Wasatch Range's Big Cottonwood Canyon near Salt Lake City.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He says the other two -- a snowboarder and skier -- watched as the victim descended Kessler Peak and triggered an avalanche. With the help of avalanche beacons, they found him dead less than an hour later.
The victim's name and hometown were not immediately released.