3 Skiers Have Died This Month At Utah Resorts

Three skiers have died in separate skiing incidents at three different Utah resorts this month.

According to KUTV, the three skiing incidents were:

• February 3: Andrew Gagnon, 38, fell about 100 feet off a cliff and tumbled down a slope riddled with rocks and trees for another 500-600 feet at Solitude Resort
• February 13: Henry Kendell, 14, died after a ski collision in the Sugarloaf area of the Alta Ski Area
• February 15: 35-year-old man died after a ski collision at Snowbasin Resort

KUTV reached out to the three resorts, in addition to several others along the Wasatch Front to see if they have noticed any trends that might be contributing to the number of deaths. Both Snowbasin and Alta declined to release numbers on injuries, but said they do track them.

KUTV did speak with regular skiers and snowboarders who frequent the area. Most of them "blame an extended stretch of dry weather from early January to mid-February," KUTV reported.

"Extended dry weather means we’re skiing more and more of the snow off. So rocks and tree stumps are becoming more exposed. Things that can lead to injuries ... Every day, somebody mentions the bad conditions, and we’re all praying for snow right now. But on lift rides with strangers, we’re all talking about injuries. I’m seeing more ski patrollers. There’s definitely talk about injuries being up this year," A.J. Torres-Hotrum, who frequents several area resorts, told KUTV.