Mark Wolling, 58, was caught in the slide at about 8:25 a.m., before the slopes were open to the public, as he and other patrollers conducted avalanche hazard reduction work in the Cheyenne Bowl at an elevation of 9,350 feet. Wolling, a Jackson resident known by the nickname "Big Wally," and another patrol member were setting off explosive devices called hand charges when the avalanche triggered above them, according to a resort news release.
The other patroller was able to stop himself on a tree but Wolling was swept up in the sliding snow. Wolling was carried along for most of the 1,000-foot slide, including over a 25-foot cliff, according to the resort. It took fellow patrollers about 10 minutes to find Wolling, who was buried in about 6 feet of snow.
Wolling was rushed to the Teton Village Clinic and then St. John's Medical Center in Jackson. He was flown Wednesday afternoon to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, where a hospital spokeswoman said he was in critical condition. "It has been an extremely tough morning for all our patrollers and staff," Jerry Blann, resort president, said in a statement. "I am very grateful to everyone for their efforts. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mark and his family right now."
Wolling has been on the ski patrol since 1989 and has worked for the resort in other capacities since 1978, said Anna Olson, a resort spokeswoman. "His family are aware, and we have a lot of people looking out for him," Olson said.
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort had received 10 inches of snow in the 24 hours before the avalanche occurred and substantial snowfall in the previous week. Wolling was in the upper area of the Cheyenne Bowl when the avalanche occurred, Olson said. The area has not been open to the public this season because of insufficient snow.
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