SALT LAKE CITY — Tuesday marks 20 years since three teenagers died in an avalanche in Utah County.
The tragedy inspired many Utahns to make a difference in avalanche education and technology.
On Dec. 26, 2003, a group of young snowboarders went up into the mountains near the Alpine Grove Trailhead to test out new gear they got for Christmas. Only two made it out alive.
“It took 106 days before they found Rod and Adam,” said Mona Merz.
The avalanche covered the equivalent of 22 football fields with snow as deep as 25 feet.
“It rocked our world,” said Merz. “For a very long time, everyone was really sad.”
Three teenagers — including Merz’s son, Adam — died. One of the young men’s bodies was found a few days later but it took four months to recover the other two.
“Every time it snowed I’d cry because I knew it was going to be that much longer until they found the bodies,” said Merz.
Father and son David and Matthew Long remember the many hours of searching.
“We climbed up on the avalanche and this big ol’ open white space and we were just searching,” said Matthew Long. “Spent all day just walking back and forth.”
Those long days inspired David Long to dive into his research as an engineering professor at Brigham Young University. His program developed a ground-penetrating radar system to try and locate the missing snowboarders.
“We started a whole new research area. We started looking at radar and avalanches. We eventually built a snow avalanche radar,” he explained.
The avalanche also inspired Utah Avalanche Center forecaster Craig Gordon to launch the initiative "Know Before You Go" less than a year later.
“It truly is a one-of-a-kind event,” he said. “And then to see where this has led is yet another one-of-a-kind event.”
According to the Utah Avalanche Center, the program has reached over 300,000 Utahns and expanded across the United States and over 40 countries. It focuses on educating and spreading awareness on avalanche forecasts and preparation.
There’s even a sign at the Alpine Grove Trailhead reminding recreators before they venture up.
On the 20th anniversary, Gordon met with one of the survivors for the first time to tell him how the program has changed lives.
“He knows that his tragedy and the tragic loss of his friends will not go in vain. That we have turned this around and we have actually helped countless people across the planet,” he said.
