Skier Dies In Park City Avalanche

For the second time this January, a backcountry rider died in an avalanche on the Park City Ridgeline. The accident occurred outside the gates of Park City Mountain Resort, in an area known as Square Top. The victim was identified as 57-year-old Kurt Damschroder, a local Park City skier. Damschroder and his partner were traveling in the backcountry outside the resort on Saturday when he triggered a medium-sized avalanche that caught and carried him several hundred feet, and ended up fully burying him. Avalanche danger was rated HIGH with a special avalanche bulletin warning recreationalists in the Salt Lake/Part City forecast zone that day, following heavy snowfall and high winds. The victim’s partner was able to locate him with a beacon and excavate him but was unable to revive him. The Summit County Sheriff’s Office and PCMR Ski Patrol assisted in recovering the victim’s body after additional avalanche mitigation efforts were performed Saturday evening.

For more information on the slide, read the Utah Avalanche Center’s preliminary report here.

An avalanche death occurred in a nearby zone on January 8, 2021.