Tyler Montague, 18, one of three young people burned in a thermal pool in Yellowstone National Park in August, has been released from University Hospital's Intermountain Burn Unit.
His friend, Lance Buchi, 18, who was also severely burned, is progressing well but remains in the hospital, according to hospital spokesman John Dwan.
Sara Hulphers, a 20-year-old from Washington, died as a result of her burns. The pool into which they fell was 178 degrees.
In asking for privacy for the family during Montague's transition, his mother Elizabeth said the danger of death has passed but called it "just the beginning of the next critical phase of healing. Tyler is far from well. He needs time and we need time as a family to put our lives back together, physically and emotionally. Our joy at Tyler's miraculous survival and going home is tempered by our feelings for Sara's family."
Dr. Stephen Morris, one of the surgeons who has been and will continue to treat Montague, emphasized that though Montague and Buchi were friends injured in the same accident, "they are two different people, two different patients. Each of them is running a marathon every day."