SANDY, Utah– Search teams on Friday found the bodies of two backcountry skiers who had been swept away and buried by an avalanche in the mountains outside Salt Lake City a day earlier, and they were evacuated from the mountain by helicopter , authorities said.
The men, ages 23 and 32, were killed in the snow slide Thursday morning in the Lone Peak area of the Wasatch Range southeast of the city, officials said. Storms over the previous three days brought up to 76 centimeters of heavy, wet snow and strong winds to the area.
Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said search teams discovered the men’s bodies Friday morning. The bodies were transported from the mountain by helicopter and taken to the medical examiner’s office, Sgt. Aymee Race with Salt Lake City Unified Police said.
Three men were climbing a ridge on a slope called Big Willow Aprons and were near the summit when the slide was triggered unintentionally, the Utah Avalanche Center said.
The first climber was carried down the right side of the ridge and partially buried. The other two were carried to the left side of the ridge and buried, the center said in its report.
The first climber managed to free himself and call for help. He was rescued Thursday midday, but weather conditions prevented the recovery of the other two men.
Family members of both victims were in the search area near Sandy on Friday, Rivera said.
The snow broke about 2 feet (61 centimeters) deep and 250 feet (76 meters) wide and slid about 500 feet (152 meters), the avalanche center said.
The area where the avalanche occurred, Lone Peak, is one of the highest peaks in the Wasatch Range, towering over Utah’s capital city. Its steep, rugged terrain makes it a popular destination for advanced cross-country skiers, and experienced climbers can scale its granite walls in the warmer months.
“It’s very serious terrain. It’s steep. It is oriented towards the north. The crew that was up there had to be experienced,” Craig Gordon of the Utah Avalanche Center said Thursday.
Rivera confirmed the men were experienced skiers.
The deaths bring the number of avalanche deaths this winter in the United States to 15, according to the Utah Avalanche Information Center, which tracks avalanche deaths. In the United States, an average of 30 people die in avalanches each year.
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Hanson reported from Helena, Montana.
ABC News
