High 5 for Volunteer Rescuers After Busy Avalanche Season
May 23, 2019, 6:53 AM | Updated: 12:12 pm
SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah — Now that things are warming up, the snow has melted in the low elevations and people are heading to the foothills for hikes.
Volunteer rescuers are getting ready for the season by hiking up the Mt. Olympus trail. They need to be in shape when and if a rescue is in order.
But in the winter, the rescues were especially difficult. We had a number of avalanches and people who were trapped in the snow.
“On big snow years like this, we stack up this much snow, and things are running and breaking a little bit wider, and definitely running longer than you might expect,” is how forecaster Craig Gordon described it.
In March, two people were rescued in Cardiff Fork after an avalanche came down. In February, a snowmobiler was killed near Coalville. And skiers were caught in an avalanche that same month.
To thank the volunteers for their efforts, we gave the Salt Lake County search and rescuers a much deserved High 5.
“In particular for a lot of the work you guys did in the winter time, we know it was kind of a rough year.”
In addition to that, America First Credit Union is donating $1,000 for equipment.
The volunteers know that there really isn’t a low season for them.
Now we’re entering the time when hikers will have accidents, and rescues will need to take place. This team is ready for the job.
