ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico ski resort says two people are being taken to hospitals Thursday after they were pulled from an avalanche near its highest summit.
Chris Stagg, a spokesman for Taos Ski Valley, says no other skiers or snowboarders were believed to be buried in the snow after witnesses told authorities that they had seen two people on the slope when the snow collapsed Thursday.
However, he says, a search of the mountain was still underway as a precaution to ensure no other people remained trapped.
Stagg says both people who were rescued are males. Their conditions were not immediately known.
Taos Ski Valley says the avalanche happened at 11:30 a.m. on its K3 run. It was unknown what triggered the avalanche.
Kachina Peak is a nearly 12,500-foot (or 3,810-meter) summit with several mountainside chutes that expert skiers and snowboarders can dart down. The 1,200-acre (or nearly 5-square-kilometer) ski resort north of Taos is one of the largest ski resorts in New Mexico.
Recommended Stories For You
George Brooks, the director of the nonprofit Ski New Mexico, which promotes the sport, said avalanches are fairly rare in the state, and typically terrain is very well controlled at the area’s ski resorts. The avalanche comes as the state has enjoyed one of its best ski seasons in years after a spell of dry winters.
“If they occur, it’s not usually when anybody is around,” Brooks said of New Mexico avalanches.
The mountain had received 2 inches of snow in the last day and 15 inches in the last week, the Taos Ski Valley website said. The spot where the avalanche happened is prone to winds that can blow up the mountain and cause a cornice, meaning avalanches can occur there even without a high level of recent snowfall, Brooks said.