Search suspended for missing skiers

The search in Grand Teton National Park for two men with ties in the Flathead has been suspended because of inclement weather. The men are believed to be lost in an avalanche.

Teton officials said Gregory Seftick, 31, and friend Walker Kuhl, 27, of Salt Lake City, Utah, set out to camp overnight in the Teton Range on Saturday, April 16. According to their backcountry permit, they intended to explore Tepee Pillar and Tepee Glacier — features near the Grand Teton.

When Kuhl failed to report to work in Salt Lake City on Monday morning, park rangers were notified and the initial search began.

Kuhl is a Kalispell native and the son of Richard Kuhl and Marylane Pannell. Seftick is a doctor and recently moved to Columbia Falls from West Virginia. Richard Kuhl is one of the founding members of the Flathead Coalition, a group of like-minded professionals dedicated to the preservation of the North Fork of the Flathead River.

The search was unsuccessful on Monday, and a full-scale search was begun Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday, poor weather stopped the search, and Friday’s weather is expected to be bad again.

The search has now been classified as a “recovery operation,” not a rescue operation.

The initial call that the men were missing came into Teton County Sheriff’s Office at 11:15 a.m. on Monday, when Kuhl’s girlfriend notified authorities.

Because of the avalanche danger, rangers first searched from the air on Monday. The avalanche danger  was rated “considerable” in higher elevations but “low” for elevations from 6,000 to 9,000 feet. More than 500 inches of snow fell in the Tetons this winter, the Park reported.

Rescuers were looking in the Garnet Canyon area for signs of the men. Both men had avalanche beacons and had experience climbing and skiing in the Teton Range.