BRIGHTON, Utah — The Utah Avalanche Center has new information about a pair of skiers who accidentally triggered an avalanche near Brighton last week.
The UAC initially put out a call for the skiers to come forward, saying they appeared to have gotten themselves out and skied away without reporting the avalanche.
The aftermath of the slide was spotted Saturday by an avalanche forecaster and a member of Brighton Resort's ski patrol. They said the avalanche occurred on the northwest slope of Hidden Canyon in the backcountry near Brighton.
"YOU ARE NOT IN TROUBLE," they assured the skiers in an Instagram post on Saturday, saying they just wanted important information for their research and to help with future rescue operations.
In an update, the center said they heard from the pair of skiers, age 17 and 18, and learned that the avalanche actually happened Friday.
The UAC said the skiers ducked under a boundary rope just below the Great Western lift at Brighton and went into Hidden Canyon "in search of fresh powder snow."
They skied a "lap" successfully, then took the lift back up and went into Hidden Canyon again. This time, they triggered an avalanche 200 feet wide and 2-4 feet deep, which carried the skiers 500 feet.
One of the teens was partially buried, while the other was "critically" buried — upside down with his entire body under the snow except for one boot.
UAC forecasters said the skiers knew the terrain of Hidden Canyon, but they did not have avalanche rescue gear. They said "witnesses" came to their aid and helped dig the buried skier out safely. They were able to walk away with no significant injuries, according to the full report.
The report added that the slide happened because of a "Persistent Weak Layer" of snow.
And although the skiers aren't in trouble, the UAC used this as an example to warn others:
"If you duck ropes or travel beyond ski area boundaries, you are entering the backcountry, where dangerous avalanche conditions may exist," they wrote in an Instagram post. "Ski area closures and boundaries are in place for your safety—please respect them. Notably, Utah leads the nation in avalanche fatalities involving people who exited ski areas and did not return home."
