CACHE COUNTY, Utah — Two brothers are home safe after being caught in an avalanche on Christmas Eve morning in the Steep Hollow area of Franklin Basin in Cache County.
"Those guys had a very, very lucky Christmas Eve," explained Toby Weed, a forecaster with the Utah Avalanche Center.
The men were out for a ride on snowmobiles when one of them riding across a slope or side hill triggered the avalanche. One of the men was caught up in the avalanche as was carried about 150 yards and buried.
Luckily, Weed said both men had the equipment necessary for backcountry travel.
"The brother who was not buried used his transceiver to find the brother who was buried, and it got him pretty close," said Weed, "and when he got close enough, he could see a couple fingers sticking out of the snow of his brother and was able to dig him out."
The brother who was buried suffered just minor injuries and both men were able to ride out of the area. It was a much different outcome compared to another avalanche that happened in Cache County 16 years ago on Christmas Eve.
"It was actually a party of four young men rode up Providence Canyon and only about maybe 15 minutes from when somebody, one of the party or two of the party of four, triggered the avalanche," Weed said.
Two riders, 22-year-old Erik Jorgensen and 23-year-old Jesse Johnson, both from Utah, were killed.
Weed shared tips about how to avoid avalanche dangers similar to the deadly incident nearly two decades ago.
"Number one, always access and read the forecast. The forecast that day, it was considerable avalanche as it is the avalanche danger, and that's actually the same danger that it is here in Logan today," he said.
The avalanche danger level is expected to be high this weekend, which drives home the importance of taking a look at all the forecasts available for those going up into the backcountry.
