Avalanche control measures were taken Sunday morning before a rare avalanche inside the boundary of Snowbird killed a young Salt Lake County woman.
The woman family is now dealing with a tragic loss. Heather Gross had been skiing since she was five years old.
“She was an amazing skier, she was definitely fearless,” said her younger sister Emily Gross.
Heather was skiing some fresh powder on the east side of Snowbird’s Mount Baldy Sunday afternoon when she was hit by an avalanche and buried under several feet of snow.
By the time rescuers found her she had been buried for nearly an hour, she was rushed to the hospital, but Heather passed away a short time later.
“She was prepared,” said Emily “So it was just kind of an accident.”
Officials from Snowbird Ski Resort told 2News that avalanche control measures were done Sunday morning in the area where the avalanche hit. Heather was skiing in-bounds at Snowbird.
The Utah Avalanche Center said these types of in-bounds avalanches are extremely rare, but not unheard of. Since 1950 there have only been 7 deaths as a result of in-bounds avalanches.
“There’s 10 times more Utahns who have been killed by lightning than by in-bounds avalanches,” said Avalanche Center Director Bruce Tremper. “It’s ironic that this would happen at Snowbird because Snowbird and Alta are world famous for their avalanche control practices.”
Heather’s family describes her as a person who had a great love for people. She spoke Italian and Spanish and she was also learning to speak Chinese.
“She just loved people,” said Emily “She wanted to be able to communicate with all people.”
Now Heather’s family is dealing with the sudden and tragic loss and Emily said her sister will be greatly missed.
“Every year we’d go skiing on Christmas and just the reality that she won’t be there this year will be hard,” she said.
Heather’s family is asking anyone who would like to express condolences or help out in anyway, to make a donation to the Utah Food Bank in Heather’s name.
