Man injured in Glacier Park avalanche

A local man was hospitalized Tuesday, Jan. 8, after he was swept away in an avalanche in Glacier National Park.

Two men were skiing the slopes of Elk Mountain on the southern end of the Park about five miles west of Marias Pass when they triggered an avalanche.

Park dispatchers received a call at 4:15 p.m. saying the man had been caught in the slide and was injured but alive.

The skiers, both males age 34 and 35, were skiing on a ridge when one of the skiers fell and triggered the avalanche. Their names were not released.

One skier was carried away with the slide and partially buried. The other skier was below when the avalanche occurred. He was able to escape from the slide path and then help rescue his companion, according to Park officials.

The skier who was partially buried sustained significant injuries - reportedly to his head and shoulders.

The avalanche rating at the time of the incident was “considerable.”

A Glacier County EMS Ambulance transported the injured skier to a medical facility, and the other skier was released at the scene.

Emergency personnel assisting 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.

This is the second incident this winter where a skier was partially buried by an avalanche and survived. The first incident occurred in December in the Jewel Basin, on the Swan Range.

For more information on avalanches and avalanche education in the Flathead, visit online at www.flatheadavalanche.org.