1 person killed in large avalanche in western Wyoming backcountry
JACKSON, Wyo.– A avalanche killed one skier and injured another after the group they were in caused the major snow slide while climbing a mountain in western Wyoming.
The avalanche occurred Saturday in a backcountry area about 20 miles (32 kilometers) east of Grand Teton National Park.
As the group of four people ascended a steep slope at an altitude of 3,150 meters, a large slab of snow about 1.5 meters thick broke loose and slid away, completely burying the victim and partially burying a second skier. , according to Teton County Search and Rescue and the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center.
Authorities received a report of the accident just before noon. It took rescuers almost four hours to reach the accident site by ski, after a helicopter tried to reach the site but had to turn around due to stormy weather.
A series of snowstorms have swept through the area in recent weeks, including one on Saturday, National Weather Service forecaster Jason Straub said.
The skier’s death marks the fifth person killed by an avalanche in the US this winter.