Salt Lake County SAR rescues 2 skiers caught in avalanche in Millcreek

Search and Rescue volunteers with the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office rescued two skiers who got caught in an avalanche at Gobbler's Knob in Mill Creek on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021. Photo: SLCSOSAR/Facebook

SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah, Jan. 30, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — Search and Rescue volunteers with the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office were called out Saturday after a skier triggered an avalanche and two skiers were caught in it.

“The reporting party was on a ridge and luckily had good cell phone coverage to report the accident,” SLCOSAR said in a Facebook post.

The avalanche, at Gobbler’s Knob in Millcreek, was reported at 1:23 p.m.

The Department of Public Safety helicopter was dispatched because of the remote location and the avalanche risk for rescue teams.

Upon arrival at the scene, SAR made contact with the reporting party and it was determined that two skiers had been caught in the slide and “they were making their way down Pole Canyon,” the post said.

Ground teams went up Porter Fork/Pole Canyon to make contact with the group. The teams transported one injured person to the road in a toboggan, and the other was transported to the hospital by Unified Fire Authority.

The rescue took five hours and six minutes.

The SAR Facebook post concluded with:

“The 2 experienced backcountry skiers were skiing the shoulder of Gobbler’s Knob when one of them triggered an avalanche that broke above and caught and carried them both. They both wound up on top of the debris and were able to go home to their friends and loved ones. Ski a resort or go do some nordic skiing tomorrow and stay safe.”

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