(SANDY, Utah) – Two backcountry skiers died and one was rescued after an avalanche Thursday in the mountains outside Salt Lake City that followed several days of spring snowstorms, authorities said.
A rescue team responded shortly after 10 a.m. to a reported avalanche near Lone Peak in the Wasatch Range southeast of Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said.
One of the skiers, who managed to get out of the snow, was rescued at noon and taken to the hospital, Rivera said.
A rescue team in a helicopter flew over the area Thursday afternoon and confirmed the other two men were dead, Rivera said. There are two men, aged 23 and 32. Their names were not disclosed.
Conditions were not safe enough to allow for a recovery Thursday, and crews planned to leave Friday morning, weather permitting, Rivera said.
Rivera said he believes the rescued man was the one who called for help. Deputies were speaking with him at the hospital to get more information about what happened, the sheriff said.
Skiers arrived in the area Thursday morning, she said.
Craig Gordon of the Utah Avalanche Center said about 30 inches of heavy, wet snow has fallen in the area over the past three days.
Skiers would have to have a lot of experience to be on “very serious terrain,” he said.
At least 15 people have died in avalanches in the US this winter. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center, which tracks the number nationally, recorded 13 deaths before officials announced Thursday’s deaths.
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