3 backcountry skiers survive avalanche on Teton Pass

UPDATE 10:20 a.m.: Three backcountry skiers survived after being caught in an avalanche Saturday in western Wyoming.

Twenty-three-year-old Satchel Toole wasn’t breathing when his friends pulled him out of the slide on Teton Pass and but was resuscitated. The following day, Toole told the Jackson Hole News and Guide that the experience was “humbling.”

Toole’s roommate, 25-year-old Max McKendry, was also buried but was closer to the surface and able to pull himself out.

The slide was apparently triggered by a Montana man who was skiing with another group above them. Wylie Picotte of Bozeman said he wasn’t able to deploy his airbag and swam to try to stay above the moving snow. When it stopped, the 23-year-old had one hand above the debris and was able to move snow away from his mouth.

___

ORIGINAL:

There were several reports of avalanche activity on the Bridger Teton National Forest.

According to the Bridger Teton Avalanche Center, two skiers were caught in an avalanche in the “Wolf Trap” area off Teton Pass Saturday.

One skier was fully buried and the other partially buried. Companions succeeded in rescuing the two and they sustained only minor injuries.

Also Saturday, a skier or rider was partially buried in “Chicken Scratch.” Few details about that incident were available Monday morning.