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BIG COTTONWOOD CANYON — A group of three skiers involved in a Friday afternoon avalanche near Solitude Mountain Resort are veteran backcountry skiers, with more than 60 years experience among them, officials said.
The avalanche took place at about 3 p.m. in the Upper Meadow Chutes area, just west of Solitude resort, according to a report from the Utah Avalanche Center.
One skier, a 52-year-old man, had a serious head injury after the avalanche carried him about 600 feet down the slope. He was transported by helicopter to the medical clinic at Solitude and then taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital. His condition stabilized later on Friday, Unified police said.
The other two skiers did not have any injuries.
The slide happened on an east-facing slope at an elevation of 9,600 feet. It was about 150 feet wide and cascaded 1,000 feet down the ridge, according to the UAC report.
None of the three skiers was on the part of the slope where the avalanche started, but the slide is listed as skier-triggered, according to the report. One skier was skiing on the south side of the avalanche area while the other two were underneath it.
The avalanche happened on the group’s seventh run in the area. The skier who was on the side of the avalanche area first noticed it and called out to the other skiers.
One of the other skiers heard the warning and moved about 10 feet to the north, avoiding the avalanche. But the 52-year-old skier was taking a picture and was not able to move out of the way, and got caught in the slide.
After the slide, the other skiers thought that the man must have been killed due to the severity of the avalanche and the terrain beneath it. He survived but was injured and could not free himself, according to the report.
Solitude resort ski patrollers first responded to the avalanche scene. UPD officers and a LifeFlight helicopter followed.
It took about two hours from the time the avalanche took place for the injured skier to be transported in an ambulance, according to the report. That is a very quick response time, according to the report, and other skiers are advised to prepare for a much longer response time in similar situations.
There are lots of “booby traps” in the snowpack this year, and skiers are asked to take extra caution, the report says
