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SANPETE COUNTY -- Three skiers were buried in a central Utah avalanche Saturday, and all of them were rescued. But one of the skiers died Sunday in the hospital from his injuries.
It was so steep that as our rescuers would go off, if they weren't attached to the rope, it was a free fall, they would fall and go.
–Kerry Nielson, rescuer
#nielson_quote
By all accounts, the rescue was a team effort -- not just trained volunteers who responded, but people in the area who were snowmobiling also pitched in. It turned into a highly technical rescue, helping victims trapped in a very treacherous place.
Wind and unstable snow at a high altitude made for a nearly impossible rescue Saturday afternoon near Skyline Drive. From Chopper 5, you could see what rescuers were up against: terrain so steep Snowcats or snowmobiles couldn't reach the victims, and so windy a rescue helicopter couldn't land.
"It was so steep that as our rescuers would go off, if they weren't attached to the rope, it was a free fall, they would fall and go," said Kerry Nielson, a volunteer with the Sanpete County Search and Rescue Team.
Nielson and the other volunteers spent more than 12 hours Saturday rescuing the three skiers who triggered a slide in an area known as the Horseshoe.
PHOTO GALLERY:
Sanpete County avalanche rescue
See photos of the rescue effort to save the three skiers involved in the avalanche in Sanpete County Saturday."We could not get the equipment in there," said volunteer rescuer David Taylor. "They had to go in on snow shoes and rappel. "It was 2,600 feet of rope they laid down."
As the afternoon turned into the evening, the search and rescue team never questioned if they would be able to get everyone off of the mountain.
"We had a job to do, and we had to get it done. It was just a matter of getting things done properly and safely so that nobody else got hurt up there," said volunteer rescuer David Sedlak.
One of the skiers who was buried in the avalanche for about 20 minutes died Sunday. Garrett Smith was 26 years old.
It's not the ending the searchers had hoped for, but they all believe they did their best.
"Physically, it is challenging. The mental challenge doesn't usually come until a couple of days later, and you get home, and you try to go to sleep, and you replay it in your mind," Nielsen said. "That's when the mental challenges of something like this tend to get to you, and it's hard."
The volunteers on the search and rescue team contribute not only their time, but also the expense of their own personal equipment. Donations from the community help to fund the search and rescue's Snowcats and other equipment.
Email: spenrod@ksl.com
