Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said search crews on Friday discovered the bodies of two backcountry skiers who had been swept away and buried by an avalanche in the mountains outside Salt Lake City the day before, and were preparing to remove them from the mountain by helicopter. It is said that he was doing so.
A 23-year-old man and a 32-year-old man were killed Thursday morning in an avalanche in the Lone Peak area of the Wasatch Mountains southeast of the city, authorities said. Storms over the past three days have dumped up to 30 inches of heavy, wet snow and high winds in the area.
According to the Utah Avalanche Center, three men were climbing near the ridge and top of a slope called Big Willow Apron when the slide occurred unintentionally.
Wyoming ski crash that killed legendary outdoorsman, medical examiner rules it a homicide
The first climber was carried downhill on the right side of the ridge and was partially buried. The center’s report said the remaining two people were washed away and buried on the left side of the ridge.
The first climber was able to escape on his own and call for help. He was rescued by noon Thursday, but weather conditions hampered the recovery of the other two.
A recovery team watches as a helicopter lands in a staging area as they work to recover the bodies of two skiers killed in a backcountry avalanche in Sandy, Utah, on May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Rivera said the families of the two victims were in a search preparation area near Sandy on Friday.
The snow broke about 2 feet deep and 250 feet wide and slid about 500 feet, the Avalanche Center said.
Lone Peak, where the avalanche occurred, is one of the highest peaks in the Wasatch Mountains, which tower over Utah’s capital city. Its steep and rugged terrain makes it a popular destination for advanced backcountry skiers, and experienced climbers can be seen scaling its sheer granite walls during the warmer months.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“It’s very serious terrain here. It’s steep, it’s facing north. The crews that were there would have to be very experienced,” Craig Gordon of the Utah Avalanche Center said Thursday.
Rivera confirmed that the man was an experienced skier.
The deaths bring the total number of avalanche fatalities in the U.S. to 15 this winter, according to the Utah Avalanche Information Center, which tracks avalanche fatalities.An average of 30 people die in avalanches each year in the United States.
