Rescuers found her on an out-of-bounds slide path and rushed her to a hospital.
BRIGHTON, UT — An 11-year-old girl died Thursday after she was caught in a backcountry avalanche near Brighton Ski Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon, authorities said. Ski patrol and rescue crews located her along the slide path, gave emergency care and took her to a hospital, but she later died.
The death came during a stretch of dangerous avalanche conditions in Utah’s mountains following a major snowstorm. It also followed another fatal avalanche in the Wasatch Mountains a day earlier, officials said. The girl’s name was not released, and authorities said they were still gathering details about how the group entered the area and what happened in the minutes before the slide.
Rescuers were called shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday to terrain near the Brighton area that officials described as out of bounds for recreational skiing. Unified Police Department Detective Quin Wilkins said the girl had been at the resort with family members when the avalanche happened. Brighton Ski Patrol and Wasatch Backcountry Rescue were among the first teams on scene, and additional search-and-rescue crews were sent in from across Salt Lake County.
In a statement, the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office said rescuers found a juvenile girl “along the slide path” and immediately began first aid. Sheriff Rosie Rivera thanked the responding agencies and said the snowpack had been unpredictable after the storm. “This incident is a reminder that avalanches can happen in an instant,” Rivera said, adding that her thoughts and prayers were with the girl’s family.
Officials said the avalanche occurred outside the resort’s controlled skiing area, where avalanche mitigation work is typically done. Wilkins said the location was not open for normal resort skiing. Some experienced skiers use the term “out of bounds” to describe areas beyond gates and ropes that are not patrolled or made safe the way in-bounds runs are. Authorities did not say Thursday whether the group used a lift to reach the spot or entered from another route.
Witness accounts shared by local media described the slide area as a popular off-piste zone near Brighton that can look inviting after a storm but sits under steep terrain. The area is often known locally as the Rock Garden, a cluster of trees, small cliffs and gullies. Avalanche specialists later logged a report for the same general location, describing a slab of snow that broke on a north-facing slope around 9,200 feet in elevation and ran about 100 feet wide.
Those observations suggested the snow failed on a weak layer that had been buried under new snow from the storm. In plain terms, that means fresh snow and wind can build a stiff layer on top of older, looser snow, creating a “stack” that can crack and slide like a sheet. Observers also noted signs the avalanche may have been triggered from below and from the side, a scenario that can surprise people who believe they are staying out of the main start zone.
Authorities said rescuers learned after the response that the girl did not have an avalanche beacon, a device that can transmit a signal to help others locate someone buried under snow. A beacon is usually part of a trio of backcountry safety gear that also includes a shovel and a probe. Officials did not say what equipment other members of the group had, or whether anyone else was caught in the slide. The sheriff’s office said the area was evaluated afterward to make sure there was no immediate continued risk to rescuers and others nearby.
One major challenge Thursday was weather. A medical helicopter was dispatched, but it could not land and turned back because of strong winds and the lack of a safe landing zone, officials said. The girl was transported by ambulance to a hospital, where she later died. Authorities did not release the hospital’s name and said they would not provide further details about her injuries.
The fatal slide occurred as Utah’s mountain communities dealt with heavy snowfall and repeated avalanche warnings. The storm that moved through the region on Wednesday dropped large totals in the Wasatch, and forecasters reported widespread avalanche activity over two days. By Thursday afternoon, forecasters had logged dozens of avalanches around the state, including many that broke on buried weak layers. In some areas, the danger was described as high, the second-highest rating used in U.S. avalanche forecasts.
Less than 24 hours earlier, another avalanche in Utah killed a man who was snowmobiling with his juvenile son in Wasatch County, authorities said. The avalanche happened Wednesday afternoon in the Snake Creek area west of Midway. The son used an avalanche beacon to locate his father and dug him out, but the man died at the scene, officials said. That death and Thursday’s fatality near Brighton underscored how quickly conditions can turn deadly after a major storm, even for people who spend time in the mountains.
Thursday’s response near Brighton drew multiple agencies, including sheriff’s search-and-rescue teams and other public safety units. Officials said the immediate focus was on rescue and medical care, and then on confirming the scene was stable enough for rescuers to move safely. Avalanche forecasters also said they planned to visit the accident area to better understand what failed in the snowpack and to document conditions for future warnings.
At the resort, the news spread while skiers and snowboarders continued to arrive for storm snow. One longtime Brighton skier, Chris Jensen of West Jordan, told local media he had checked whether gates to the Rock Garden area were open earlier in the day and later learned that was where the tragedy happened. He said the scene hit him hard because he sometimes skis similar terrain with family members. Nearby, others in the parking lots and lift lines said they were trying to process the loss while still seeing the canyon filled with people chasing powder.
Officials did not announce any criminal investigation related to the avalanche, and they did not say whether any citations might be issued. In many avalanche cases, authorities treat the initial response as a rescue and recovery operation while avalanche experts collect observations. Investigators typically look for basic facts such as where the group traveled, whether the slope was triggered by a person, and what warnings were in effect. Any formal report from forecasters can take days or weeks, especially if conditions make travel unsafe.
For now, officials said the girl’s identity would not be released publicly, and they asked for privacy for the family. A public update from law enforcement was expected as more details were confirmed, including the exact location and the route taken into the out-of-bounds area. Avalanche forecasters said they would continue to track new slides and changing conditions as the snowpack settled and as winds moved snow onto steeper slopes.
The girl’s death left Utah with two avalanche fatalities in two days as the state headed into the weekend with continuing risk in the mountains. Forecasters said they expected to keep assessing storm slabs and persistent weak layers, hazards that can linger well after snowfall ends. The next milestone is a site visit and additional findings from avalanche specialists, along with any further information released by the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Author note: Last updated February 20, 2026.