A Moab skier was injured in an avalanche he triggered in Gold Basin in the La Sal Mountains on Wednesday, March 8, around 2 p.m.
With the assistance of another party, 34-year-old Justin Caggiano was evacuated most of the way out of Gold Basin. Members of the Grand County and San Juan County Search and Rescue teams, and the Moab Winter Rescue Team, encountered the party coming out of Gold Basin and transported the injured skier to the Geyser Pass Trailhead, and then off the mountain to Moab Regional Hospital.
U.S. Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center forecaster Eric Trenbeath said that 8 to 10 inches of new snow and wind earlier in the week created isolated wind slab conditions that contributed to the accident. The avalanche advisory rated the danger as moderate, but warned of wind slab danger in upper-elevation, wind-exposed terrain.
