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BIG COTTONWOOD CANYON — A 55-year-old man was caught in an avalanche and buried while skiing Saturday and was flown by helicopter to a hospital.
The avalanche happened around 12:30 p.m. in the East Bowl area of Big Cottonwood Canyon near Silver Fork. It was about 100 feet wide and ran about 400 vertical feet.
Unified police Det. Kevin Mallory said the man was skiing with a group of seven people and one of his companions was able to call for help.
Wasatch Backcountry Rescue teams from Solitude, Brighton and Snowbird, as well as teams with Salt Lake County Search and Rescue and Unified police, assisted with the rescue efforts. Only the one man was buried and had been under the snow anywhere from 15 to 23 minutes, according to rescuers. The other skiers were able to dig him out and he was breathing but not conscious.
Officials said the man was flow off the mountain and was taken to Intermountain Medical Center. The man did regain consciousness and was reported to be in critical, but stable condition, according to Mallory.
"We are heartened by the outcome of this incident, and glad it was not any worse," Salt Lake County Sheriff's Search and Rescue tweeted later Saturday. "Thank you to the many different organizations for pooling resources so quickly and working with us to perform this rescue."
With skiing, there is always a risk of being in an avalanche, especially when temperatures are warming up and there is still fresh snow, Mallory said, adding a reminder for skiers to always be prepared with beacons and other safety equipment.
"Today was a stellar example of the amazing emergency response resources Salt Lake County has," the county search and rescue team, which is made up of more than 30 volunteer members who are on call around the clock, tweeted.
The canyon road — state Route 190 — was temporarily closed in both directions for the rescue, and while there were some residual delays, the road was clear by about 3 p.m.
The Utah Avalanche Center reported at least five other avalanches on Saturday, including two at Silver Fork that each caught a skier. The other skier was able to get out, the incident report states. There were also 11 avalanches on Friday throughout northern Utah — almost all of them were triggered by skiers or snowmobilers.
A snowmobiler in the High Uintas was also caught in a slide Saturday and was buried, but was able to get out, according to reports.
