2 skiers dead, 1 rescued after Utah avalanche

Two missing skiers are dead and one was rescued after an avalanche Thursday near the Lone Peak Summit area in Utah’s Wasatch Range, officials said.

Search and rescue crews had been looking throughout the day for the two missing men, ages 23 and 32, who have been confirmed dead, said Sgt. Aymee Race of the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake.

The identities of the three skiers have not been publicly released.

Emergency crews responded to the mountain at 10:50 a.m. local time for reports of an avalanche and three missing skiers, Race said.

The third skier was able to dig himself out after becoming trapped and was taken to a local hospital, where he helped officials, she said.

Rescuers used a helicopter hoist to lift him off the mountain, NBC News affiliate KSL reported. Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera told the station she believes he is the one who made the initial emergency call.

The three men are friends who went up to ski together Thursday morning, Rivera said.

Officials believe that the group left early in the morning and that it took them five hours to reach the “very remote” area where they were skiing, Race said.

All three were wearing avalanche gear and were experienced with backcountry skiing, officials said, according to KSL.

The avalanche is thought to have occurred in the Big Willow area in Lone Peak Canyon, just off Little Cottonwood Canyon, according to KSL.

Rivera told the station the avalanche area is “quite a ways back” on the mountain and that it was “going to take some time” to reach the two skiers, but that they had been spotted.