Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office says two women in their 20's survived falling down a mountain slope while skiing in the backcountry near Little Cottonwood Canyon Wednesday.
They say the two women were backcountry skiing when they both slipped and slid down the mountain face at around noon. One woman is in serious condition, while the other sustained a minor injury to her leg. Both were airlifted to the hospital.
The women slid 1,000 feet, launching over cliffs on the way down. "[She] went about a 1,000 feet down the side of a mountain and amongst that ride, where she was going with the slide, going over a couple of cliffs, you know, 30-40 foot cliffs," said Lt. Jake Petersen.
A guided group of 13 backcountry recreationists were near where the two women were and assisted them. When rescuers got to the victims they were surprised that, despite some broken bones, the woman who suffered the worst was still concious and stable.
Kim Hall, the skier who came away with only a small injury, talked to FOX 13 and was still reeling from what happened. "I am very tired and very nervous for my friend Jewel" said Hall. She says her friend is doing well for what happened.
"She is a trooper. She is one very strong, strong woman. I am very impressed with the way that she held through, she pulled through. She's an incredible woman and [I] can only hope that everything is completely fine. I know for sure she broke her wrist and she was concious the whole time."
Hall says that her friend Jewel first slipped and fell and slid down an icy slope. Earlier authorities believed they were in an avalanche, but she says it did not appear to be. "It was very icy. Jewel slipped on the ice and went down. I panicked and tried to go after her, which was not the smartest thing to do.
Hall says that she slid down and came over at least one cliff. When they both were at the bottom she called out Jewel's name and did not hear her answer. She says she was able to make it over to her friend and help her while another group of hikers came to help. The two were about three miles into the backcountry in a region called Hogum Fork when the incident occured.