PROVIDENCE, Cache County — In a Christmas Eve tragedy near Logan Peak, two snowmobilers were killed in an avalanche.
Erik Jorgensen, 22, of Paradise, and Jesse Ryan Johnson, 23, of Hyrum, were part of a foursome snowmobiling on the back side of Logan Peak in an area known as Rodeo Grounds. About 10:30 a.m., emergency dispatchers received a call from a satellite phone that an avalanche had buried two snowmobilers, said Cache County Sheriff's Lt. Matt Bilodeau.
Up to 20 search-and-rescue personnel on snowmobiles and a medical helicopter responded to the scene. In addition, other recreationists who were in the area stopped to help probe for the buried men, Bilodeau said.
The men that were buried had experience in the back country, he said. "The people that were up there were prepared."
The victims were wearing beacons that allowed search crews to find them faster than they would have been able if they had not been wearing them, Bilodeau said. But it was already too late.
"They were never able to resuscitate them," he said.
Bilodeau did not know Wednesday afternoon how long the victims were buried. Information about how big the slide was, how deep the men were buried and what might have caused the slide was all unavailable Wednesday.
The lieutenant said the area where the avalanche occurred is popular among snowmobilers. But he noted there had been an extreme avalanche warning for the area all week. That warning was expected to continue through the weekend due to the next winter storm anticipated to hit the area on Christmas Day.
"It's extremely dangerous up there right now," he said.
LifeFlight helped recover the bodies and take them to Logan Regional Medical Center.
Wednesday, the Utah Avalanche Center issued a warning for the mountains of northern and central Utah that included the Bear River and Uinta mountain ranges.
"Expected heavy snow and wind from Christmas Eve day through Christmas day will easily overload a historically weak snowpack, producing large natural- and human-triggered avalanches. The danger will rapidly rise again to 'high' if not 'extreme,' and we are actively discouraging back-country travel until the avalanche conditions improve," the center said.
Contributing: Ben Winslow. E-mail: preavy@desnews.com