Skiers caught in avalanche in Logan Canyon

Three backcountry skiers were caught in a small avalanche near Spring Hollow Saturday afternoon. Two of them were carried away approximately 500 feet in the avalanche and buried. The third was able to dig them out. According to the

<a href=”http://utahavalanchecenter.org/accident_spring_hollow_2192011″>Utah Avalanche Center</a>

, a party of three skiers used a snowmobile to access upper Spring Hollow from the Right Hand Fork trail head. The first skier descended into a chute below the cliffs and triggered an avalanche that did not catch him. He called to the second skier to come and check out the fresh crown.The second skier remote-triggered another slide to the skier’s left of the original pocket which caught and carried both around 500 vertical feet. The first skier was partially buried but his head remained just above the snow surface. He was trapped, buried neck deep in the debris and could not move or dig himself out and was excavated by the other skier who remained on the surface of the slide. Both skiers lost gear in the avalanche, but most was recovered after some effort.The identities of the three skiers are unknown.An avalanche warning issued by the Utah Avalanche Center remains in affect Monday for mountain ranges across Utah.The warning was issued early Sunday through the National Weather Service.Center forecasters say large amounts of new snow and high winds have created a high avalanche danger. The conditions make both human-triggered and natural avalanches likely.Forecasters recommend backcountry travelers avoid steep mountain slopes, particularly at upper elevations. Dangerous conditions are expected to linger through Monday.

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