One skier was rescued and two skiers were killed Thursday afternoon following an avalanche on Lone Peak Summit in Little Cottonwood Canyon. The slide came on the heels of a May storm that brought as much as 30 inches of fresh snow to the area, according to Utah Avalanche Center forecaster Craig Gordon. According to the Salt Lake City Tribune, the men who died were 23 and 32 years old.
A rescue team was called to Lone Peak shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday morning, according to Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera. The skier who was rescued had dug himself out of the snow and is believed to be the person who called for a rescue, authorities say. Meanwhile, rescue workers were unable to begin their search for the other two skiers immediately due to conditions on the mountain.
They all reportedly set out in the region early in the morning and, according to Gordon, would have to have been very experienced skiers to take on such serious terrain. He called it a location backcountry skiers would have targeted intentionally.
“This was dense, heavy snow,” he said, elaborating on the recent storm as well as Thursday morning’s conditions. “Along with all of this snow and water there was also some very strong winds associated with this storm. This was like a cold mid-winter storm. The problem for the snow pack right now is (that) in the spring, avalanche conditions can change in an instant.” Gordon then added that the combination of rising temperatures, sunshine, and other factors can trigger conditions for an avalanche.
He also clarified that large dry snow avalanches this late in the season are very irregular but the recent storm presented unique circumstances, calling it “full-on winter” the past three days.
Just last week, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center shared new data from the 2023-2024 winter and reporting a drop in U.S. avalanche fatalities this year.
