Injured snowboarder rescued after avalanche
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MOOSE, Wyoming — Emergency crews rescued an injured snowboarder after he was carried 600 feet down a slope and hit multiple objects before stopping against a tree.
According to a news release from Grand Teton National Park, the incident happened at 11:30 a.m. Monday. The Teton Interagency Dispatch Center was notified that a snowboarder was injured off the west side of Albright Peak in Grand Teton National Park.
The man, a local to Idaho, was caught in an avalanche and swept into Death Canyon.
Someone in his group called 911 and was able to provide information on where they were specifically located. Park search and rescue staff, along with Teton County Search and Rescue, responded with medical and extraction equipment and a helicopter.
“The rescue crew located the injured man, and after an initial assessment, it was determined that the patient could walk a short distance to the helicopter. The patient and two uninjured members of his party were flown to a landing zone near Teton Park Road where they met a waiting ambulance,” the release said.
Everyone was reported safe. The snowboarder then took himself to St. John’s Hospital in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
The avalanche ran a total of 2,400 feet from beginning to end, was about 300 feet wide, and varied from one to five feet deep, the release said.
Grant Teton National Park wrote in the release that the avalanche hazard rating for the Teton forecast zone at the time of the avalanche was moderate, and skiers and riders should always exercise caution when entering high-consequence avalanche terrain. Click here to see the avalanche forecast.