Man rescued while skiing out of bounds pleads guilty
One of four people charged for skiing out of bounds and needing rescue in western Wyoming has pleaded guilty and apologized.
Twenty-four-year-old Andrew Richards has agreed to pay $6,000 in fines, fees and restitution.
Ruth Schwietert of Jackson, Natalie Burns of Breckenridge, Colorado, and Joseph Higgins of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, still face federal charges.
Richards tells the Jackson Hole News & Guide he owns up to what he did. He says he’s sorry and thankful nobody got hurt.
The four allegedly violated an emergency closure in February at the boundary of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. Officials had closed the backcountry because of high avalanche danger.
The four got lost in a canyon and had to be rescued in dangerous conditions.
