KAMAS — Officials have identified the skier killed Friday in an avalanche in the Uinta Mountains.
Michael Janulaitis, 51, of Marion, Summit County, used a snowbike to access a backcountry area near Hoyt Peak, northeast of Kamas, “but was caught, carried, and killed in an avalanche while skiing a steep, northeast facing run in Hoyt Bowl,” the Utah Avalanche Center said in a news release.
“Michael was a friend of Utah Avy (Utah Avalanche Center) and we feel privileged for the time we got to spend together. This is a tremendous loss for our backcountry family, and we will miss him deeply,” the group said in a statement.
Dispatch received reports of a skier who had not returned home by 5 p.m. Friday, according to a press release by the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.
Search and rescue operations began in earnest, with teams finding an area with a recent slide, but “extremely hazardous conditions” forced commanders to call the search off late Friday, according to the release. Teams resumed searching at first light on Saturday, finding the Janulaitis dead at 10:49 a.m.
“Huge thanks to the Department of Public Safety, Park City Mountain Resort and Canyons Village Snow Safety and Ski Patrol teams, along with Wasatch Backcountry Rescue for the hard work recovering Micheal and returning him to his family,” the avalanche center said.
The avalanche center shows considerable avalanche danger along the Wasatch and Uinta ranges, with avalanche forecaster Craig Gordon saying that “warmth and strong spring sunshine … may help reactivate several weak layers now buried deeply in our snowpack.”
This tragedy marks the fifth avalanche fatality this season.