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A snowboarder died Wednesday in a Hells Canyon avalanche in Weber County.

The slide occurred at 10:44 a.m. Wednesday, in an area beyond Snowbasin Ski Resort's boundaries. The man's name has not yet been released, but Weber County Sheriff's Lt. Brandon Toll said he was 21 years old.

He and a friend went to the canyon Wednesday morning. After a making few turns, they decided to return into the resort, the Utah Avalanche Center reported.

"They were traversing their way back to the ski resort," Toll said. "[The 21-year-old] found a line and took it, and then the avalanche broke behind him."

The center's preliminary information is that narrow slide was triggered in a steep, shallow rocky area. The slide carried the snowboarder — who was not wearing an avalanche beacon — to the bottom and he was buried under about three feet of snow, according to the center.

The Weber County Sheriff's Office believes the slide carried the man about 1,800 feet.

One of the ski resort's search canines, Molly, later located his body, Toll said.

"Significant trauma is suspected," the center reported.

Hells Canyons has had a shallow, faceted snowpack much of the season.

"We typically get at least one avalanche per year in that area depending on the conditions," Toll said. "And it has taken at least three to four lives that I'm aware of."

One of those deaths occurred in 2010, when a skier named Todd Bell was killed.

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