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SPRING CITY, Sanpete County — Rescuers have retrieved each of seven people who were trapped in a steep bowl on Horseshoe Mountain after a Saturday morning avalanche.
The most badly injured man who was completely buried by the wall of snow was being taken off the mountainside at about 10 p.m. by a Sno-Cat and was unconscious but breathing, said Sanpete County Sheriff's Sgt. Greg Peterson.
Another man who was partially buried was taken to an area hospital as a precaution, Peterson said.
"He was up walking around and talking, but after further evaluation it was decided to take him to the hospital," Peterson said.
Rescuers had to use ropes and other equipment in a methodical attempt to reach the party — three of whom were swept into a 1,000 foot deep bowl by the 11:30 a.m. avalanche.
Four of the skiers' friends also became trapped because they tried to reach the avalanche victims.
"This is nothing like a ski resort. This is extreme back country. It is not a cut-and-dried operation because it is an area you cannot get into with a snowmobile or Sno-Cat," Peterson said.
Hampered by those conditions, made worse with fog, blowing snow and nightfall, Peterson said it was a tricky rescue operation.
Two teams — technical rescue and search and rescue — snowshoed in to reach the victims, tackling rugged, high country terrain that Peterson said is not suitable for wintertime recreation.
"It is a good place not to go to ever, ever again," Peterson said, adding that there are no roads that allowed access to the injured men and no place for a medical helicopter to land.
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Story written by Amy Joi O'Donoghue with contributions from Shara Park.
