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Show forgotten. As the avalanche slammed through the narrow gully, T. D. was torn from his position and swept away by the rushing snow. He was carried nearly one hundred and fifty- feet until the snow finally slowed to a stop and settled over him. The first man across the gully was safe. Most of the others managed to grab a tree trunk and only their feet were buried. One was snatched from his tree and carried some fifteen feet, but he too remained on the surface. All were unaware that T. D. was buried in the avalanche. B. C. was spewn out of the slide before it entered the gully. As the main party dug themselves out and regrouped, they noticed him, dazed and in shock, higher up on the slope. One of the doctors in the party told him to sit down and wait until he could be checked for possible injuries. The group then continued across the slide, most of them going onto the avalanche were Dr. E. was buried. T. D. still was not missed. At this point, B. B. turned the leadership of the party over to R. N., head of the Ski Patrol, who proceeded to organize the systematic probe. R. J. ( one of the two survivors already probing) and several others began to wonder if someone wasn't missing. They then shortly figured out that T. D. must have been trapped in the slide. About six men went back to start searching the new avalanche area. Realizing that the second accident demanded more men and supplies, including longer probe poles, R. N. sent three members of the party back to the lodge for help. The men on the top of the ridge, who had escaped the second slide, started down to discover what had happened to B. C. After descending the ridge top they followed the path of the main party to the slides. There they learned that B. C. was safe, but that T. D. was lost. One member of this group posted himself as lookout and the rest immediately joined in the searches. Four or five men began probing at six to eight inch intervals in the main mass of the second slide where T. D. was believed buried. The group working on the earlier slide began probing at one foot intervals, starting at the bottom of the deposition zone. Meanwhile back at the belter, the incapacitated snow ranger notified district level personnel and the sheriff's office of the accident. Additional help and avalanche experts were requested from the Supervisor of the Wasatch National Forest. At about 3: 30 the Snow Basin operator sent two employees to follow B. B.' s tracks to see if the party needed anything. The two men arrived at the slides and then returned to the lodge with a request for rope. S. H. then dispatched these two and four additional men with a large amount of rope. The group was instructed not to cross any open snow but to stay on the path made by the rescue party. In the meantime, the three men dispatched by the rescue party after the second slide arrived at the lodge with a request for longer probes. However none were available at Snow Basin, and it would take until the next day to obtain them. The use of a helicopter to aid rescue operations was suggested by one of these men who had connections with the nearby Hill Air Force Base. 42 |