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PARK CITY — Days after a man was killed in an avalanche in the Summit County backcountry, a Utahn caught another avalanche on camera Wednesday as a snowboarder raced down the mountainside ahead of it.
Matt Baydala posted the footage on Facebook on Wednesday afternoon, saying the avalanche occurred "in almost the exact same spot" as last week's fatal one.
"Felt helpless just watching this," Baydala wrote.
"And there it is," Baydala can be heard saying in the video as the avalanche begins. "Right in front of my face."
He calls out "Heads up!" to try to alert the snowboarder to the danger.
Thankfully, Baydala wrote, the snowboarder avoided the avalanche and spoke to Baydala afterward. "I explained to him just how lucky he was," Baydala wrote. "(He) told me he has been skiing here for 20 years" and didn't think the mountain was steep enough for an avalanche, which Baydala "thought was just absurd."
"I am relieved this man didn't get seriously hurt or killed on this Christmas morning and he gets to return home to his family."
Baydala wrote that the snowboarder did not have avalanche equipment or a beacon when he left the backcountry gates of a resort.
The Utah Avalanche Center confirmed that an avalanche occurred today on the Park City Ridgeline, where two other avalanches, one fatal, have recently happened.
Craig Gordon, an avalanche forecaster for the Avalanche Center, said avalanches are "easily triggered on steep slopes," especially with a foot of recent snowfall in the Central Wasatch.
"Avalanches are gaining a lot of momentum," Gordon said. "They've got a head of steam. You could easily be clobbered by one of these new-snow avalanches."
Gordon said Utahns can still "get out and enjoy" the new snowfall, but should keep a few things in mind. "What we need to do is just tone our slope angles down a little bit," he said. "And of course, avalanche avoidance. Now that is going to your main objective. Wear and know how to use an avalanche beacon, a shovel, a probe. Go out with experienced partners."
He also encouraged people to remove earbuds and stay alert when riding in the backcountry.
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