Tragic End to Ski Adventure! Two Skiers Dead, One Rescued in Utah’s Wasatch Range

According to officials, two missing skiers have been pronounced deceased and a third man was rescued on Thursday in the Wasatch Range of Utah’s Lone Peak Summit vicinity following an avalanche.

Throughout the day, search-and-rescue teams attempted to locate the two men, ages 23 and 32, who have since been identified as deceased, according to Greater Salt Lake Police Sergeant Aymee Race.

The identities of the skiers have not been disclosed.

Race stated that at 10:50 a.m. local time, emergency personnel were dispatched to the mountain in response to reports of an avalanche and three missing skiers. She stated that the third skier, who became entangled and was transported to a nearby hospital where he assisted authorities, managed to extricate himself.

He was hoisted off the mountain using a helicopter winch, according to NBC affiliate KSL of Salt Lake City. Sheriff Rosie Rivera of Salt Lake County stated to the station that she suspects he initiated the initial emergency contact.

Rivera stated that the three men were acquaintances who went skiing together on Thursday morning. Race stated that authorities assumed the group departed early in the morning and that it took them five hours to reach the “extremely remote” skiing area. Officials stated that all three were equipped with avalanche gear and had prior backcountry skiing experience, as reported by KSL.

KSL reports that the avalanche is believed to have struck in the vicinity of Big Willow in Lone Peak Canyon, immediately adjacent to Little Cottonwood Canyon.

The avalanche area is “quite a ways back” on the mountain, according to Rivera, who also informed the station that it would “take some time” to locate the two skiers who had been observed.

Race stated that because conditions were too hazardous to continue the search on Thursday, it has been postponed until 6 a.m. on Friday.