2 skiers died in avalanche; Weather delays recovery efforts until Friday

LITTLE COTTONWOOD CANYON — Two of three skiers caught in an avalanche Thursday are dead, the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.

“Unfortunately, I have to tell you today that this is a recovery, not a rescue,” Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said Thursday afternoon.

Due to poor weather conditions, crews were unable to recover the bodies of the two men buried under the snow, according to Rivera. They will make another attempt on Friday morning.

“The weather changed so quickly … it’s just unsafe, especially with the avalanche situation,” she said.

The announcement came after search and rescue teams were able to rescue a skier from the mountain earlier in the day and spent most of Thursday afternoon trying to find the others.

The deaths of two men, ages 23 and 32, have been confirmed, Rivera announced. One of the victims is from Utah and the other is from out of state. The confirmation came after search parties were finally able to see the victims, the sheriff said.

The three men were good friends and experienced backcountry skiers, the sheriff’s office reported.

“They were reportedly well prepared for the journey they are embarking on today,” Rivera said.

It is believed they began hiking to the Lone Peak Summit area early Thursday and took about five hours to reach their destination in the Big Willow area in Lone Peak Canyon near Lone Peak Summit, just off Little Cottonwood Canyon, to reach.

First responders were first notified of the avalanche around 10:15 a.m. Rivera said she believes the man who was rescued made the first call. This man was “able to dig himself out,” she said. Rescue workers were able to free him from the mountain around midday using a helicopter lifting device. The man was taken to a local hospital. The sheriff says he is in “good” condition. She says investigators went to the hospital to talk to him and get more information about his friends.

At 2:30 p.m., Rivera said it was still unsafe for rescuers to enter the avalanche area and that damage control measures still needed to be carried out to make the area safe before ground teams could attempt to reach the other two skiers .

“The conditions are really bad,” she said.

The sheriff said the avalanche area was “fairly far back” on the mountain and “it will take some time” to reach the remaining skiers.

However, around 3:40 p.m., as the weather began to change, Rivera announced that the two missing skiers had been spotted and their deaths had been confirmed. Because their families were from out of state, the sheriff said their names would not be immediately released.

“This is a reminder that Mother Nature can be unpredictable and we encourage everyone to be aware of the dangers of late snowpack and spring runoff,” Rivera said.