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Alex Cabrero ReportingTwo backcountry skiers got caught in an avalanche Saturday morning and spent more than six hours stranded in the snow. Crews finally reached them during a difficult rescue operation. Both men are hospitalized tonight.
Just before 10 pm, LDS Hospital reported one of the skiers remains in serious condition. The other is in extremely critical condition.
Earlier today, high winds howling down the mountain forced crews to change their plans in order to save the two, who were stuck near an 11-thousand foot high mountain peak in Little Cottonwood Canyon.
We first heard about the stranded skiers on our scanners around 10:00 this morning. We made some calls and learned the two skiers had been in the White Pine area.
Rescuers rushed up Little Cottonwood Canyon to save the men.
Sgt. Todd Griffiths, Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office: "A call came into the dispatch from two men up on the hill, that said they'd been caught in an avalanche and that they were both injured."
The two men had been trying to enjoy the day skiing, when without warning, some snow broke loose and an avalanche was on top of them.
Sgt. Todd Griffiths, Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office: "They'd actually fallen off the top of the ridge, on top of what's called the Pfeifferhorn."
Choppers and rescuers on snowmobiles tried to get to them quickly. But the terrain was too tough for snowmobiles, and the wind at nearly 80 miles per hour was too strong for the helicopters.
Terry Mercer, Pilot, Utah Highway Patrol: "It's howling up there pretty badly, and it just kicks the aircraft around a lot."
That meant rescuers had to hike to the victims.
Eric Knoff, Snowbird Ski Patrol: "We want to get to these guys as quickly as we can and give them the best care possible."
Sgt. Todd Griffiths, Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office: "It's about a four-hour hike for our initial teams that went up."
Eventually, though, rescuers reached the avalanche and the victims. One of the victims kept losing consciousness and may have several broken bones. The other was hurt, too, but OK enough to help his friend.
When winds died down, helicopters made a quick trip to get the men and take them to the hospital, just before the weather conditions turned dangerous again.
Once again, both skiers remain hospitalized tonight-- one in serious condition, the other in critical condition.
This is the first avalanche we've reported in 2007, simply because we haven't had significant snow or wind in the mountains to increase the avalanche danger. But as we saw today, that can all change in an instant.
