A Wyoming woman skiing was caught in an avalanche in Grand Teton National Park and was thrown more than 1,500 feet, or just short of the height of Chicago’s Willis Tower, rangers said.
Grand Teton National Park rangers requested a helicopter rescue from Teton County Search and Rescue (TCSAR) Sunday afternoon after receiving reports of an injured skier on Prospectors Mountain in the park.
According to park officials, the skier, a 29-year-old local woman, was skiing with four men near the 10,800-foot Banana Couloir summit when an avalanche occurred, trapping them all. It is said that
Three of the men in the group were able to stop the slide themselves, but another was carried approximately 500 feet below.
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A skier caught in an avalanche Sunday on Prospectors Mountain in Grand Teton National Park has been airlifted from the mountain along with four other skiers. (Courtesy of Teton County Search and Rescue)
However, the woman was carried about 1,500 feet, more than four football fields, in the falling snow.
Neither the woman nor the man were completely buried in the snow, but the woman was seriously injured.
A helicopter carrying a pilot and three rescue volunteers flew to Banana, a steep canyon on the east face of Prospector Mountain.
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General view of Grand Teton on the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, May 28, 2021. (Photo by AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
Upon arrival, rescue teams were able to contact the woman and remove her from the mountain, before jumping to a waiting ambulance at the Windy Point turnoff.
The other four members of the party were able to slide down the mountain on their own.
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The National Park Service said those looking to venture into the backcountry should consult the daily avalanche forecast in advance as new snow is falling in the Teton Range.
