A backcountry skier who struck an object under the snow on Friday and then fell into rocks on 10,299-foot Mount Heyburn in the Sawtooth Mountains died of his injuries, Custer County authorities report.
The skier, whose name the Custer County Sheriff's Office has not yet released, was skiing above the Bench Hut, operated by Sun Valley Trekking Co. According to Kirk Bachman of Stanley, a member of the Sawtooth Search and Rescue team, the skier was part of a four-person group in the Sawtooths to break down the yurt for the season.
The Bench Hut is nestled in trees at 7,400 feet on the large glacial moraine above Redfish Lake. The hut is located just below the first of the Bench Lakes.
Bachman said he did not take part in the rescue effort but helped coordinate the response activities on the ground from Stanley. He said a helicopter dropped off two search-and-rescue personnel near the accident site in the 217,088-acre Sawtooth Wilderness Area.
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He said the skier sustained extensive injuries from the fall, including a leg fracture and head and chest injuries.
According to Bachman, the accident happened at about 8,400 feet.
"It was right out on the east shoulder of Heyburn," he said.
Rescuers recovered the body of the skier on Friday, said Pete Isner, a Custer County Deputy Coroner based in Stanley.
Isner said all local emergency responders were dispatched at first due to a lack of details about the location of the accident. But when it became clear that it was inside the wilderness boundaries, search-and-rescue members took over, he said.
Jason Kauffman: jkauffman@mtexpress.com
