Skier Injured In Avalanche

Glacier National Park
Skier Injured In Avalanche

A skier was caught and seriously injured by an avalanche that he triggered on Elk Mountain on the afternoon of Tuesday, January 8th. Park dispatch received a call at approximately 4:15 p.m. that afternoon reporting that two skiers were involved in an avalanche and that one of them was injured. Park rangers and local emergency personnel organized and responded to the incident. Rangers reached the skiers around 6:30 p.m. and transported them to a nearby trailhead. The Glacier County EMS ambulance took the injured skier to a medical facility; the second skier was released at the scene. The two men, ages 34 and 35, were skiing a ridge of Elk Mountain just west of Marias Pass when one of them fell and triggered an avalanche. The skier was carried downslope by the slide and partially buried. The other man, who was skiing below when the avalanche occurred and was able to escape from the avalanche slide path, was then able to help rescue his companion. Emergency personnel assisting Glacier National Park rangers included members of the Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services, Glacier County Sheriff’s Office, Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, Flathead County Search and Rescue, and North Valley Search and Rescue.