EVANSTON — “Scott has always been a throttle junkie ever since he was old enough to walk,” said Trevor Harmon, the brother and business partner of Scott Wright who passed away when he was caught in an avalanche while snowmobiling at Monte Cristo, Utah, on Monday, Feb. 3. Wright, of Evanston, was 37 years old.

“He was an extreme, avid backcountry adventurer and that’s why it’s hard to believe that a mere avalanche was able to take him out because he knew avalanches like nobody’s business,” Harmon said.

Wright and a friend were riding in the Whiskey Hill-Beer Hill area of Curtis Creek at Monte Cristo Campground near the Rich County and Cache County border when he was “caught, carried, and fully buried in a large hard slab avalanche,” a report from the Utah Avalanche Center (UAC) states. “As there was no avalanche transceiver signal, the partner was unable to locate his buried friend and called 911.”

Rich County Search and Rescue was on the scene by 3 p.m., leading efforts which eventually expanded to a multi-agency mission “supported by personnel from Cache County, Weber County, Life Flight, Utah Department of Public Safety, Power Mountain K-9, and a Black Hawk helicopter provided by the Diesel Brothers,” per the UAC report.

By all accounts, the recovery was particularly difficult and time-consuming given the depth and density of the snow.

“The victim was located at approximately 6:21 p.m.,” the report states. According to the UAC’s website, Wright’s death is the first of this kind in the state of Utah this year.

“Over the years, we experienced many great adventures together, conquering the depths of the Uinta Mountains, going places that no man has probably ever been — especially on snowmobiles,” Harmon told the Herald. “Our hobbies were always spent in the outdoors together. We built our business together starting in the year 2008 with the sole purpose of doing what we loved, being able to snowmobile whenever we wanted,” Harmon said of their joint enterprise High Uinta Ventures Joatmon LLC. Joatman, Harmon explained, is an acronym for jack of all trades, master of none.

“[Wright] helped get the Vintage Snowmobile Hillclimb Association off the ground along with many other ventures that he participated in,” Harmon said.  “He was a skilled mechanic and just an all-around great guy and wonderful person. He’s going to be missed sincerely by all that he touched.”

In addition to his devastated family, Wright leaves behind many friends and was a father of two.

“Scott was also a wonderful father to two beautiful baby girls … his oldest, Andy Lynn, and his latest newborn baby, Lainey. He loved his babies and would have done anything for them,” Harmon said.

Harmon has invited the community to celebrate Wright’s life on the morning of Saturday, Feb. 15.

“We are hosting a ride in memory of Scott, coined ‘Braaap-a-palooza,’” Harmon said. “We’ll leave the shop on an epic ride at 9 a.m. and check out the back country, the Uinta Mountains and have a great time.”

The event begins at the brothers’ shop, 30 miles south of Evanston on Highway 150.

“We’re right across from the cabins at Bear River Lodge, just before the closed gate on the highway,” Harmon said. “We’ll meet back at the shop around 3 p.m. to socialize and share stories and partake in some food and live music. We’ve got many local sponsors, we’re going to be doing a couple giveaways, some raffles, so on and so forth. There will be a collection for the construction of the memorial that we are going to have placed at the family cemetery in his name. Whatever else we have will go toward his daughters and avalanche awareness and education.”

Harmon said the local snowmobile community will miss Wright.

“We’ve always been avid snowmobilers, and that’s the community that he touched the most. He reached every aspect of the snowmobile community in any way possible; he was just that go-to, good guy that everybody knows and loves,” Harmon said.  “He was always there for everybody and I’m asking that everybody be there for him now.”