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Swift help saved 2 in avalanches
Hundere suffers eight broken ribs on pass; Rohr flown to Salt Lake with broken femur.

By Jim Stanford

Two men remained hospitalized Tuesday after being caught in avalanches and swept over cliffs in separate backcountry skiing accidents in the Tetons.

Daniel Hundere, 33, of Driggs, Idaho, suffered eight broken ribs and received eight stitches Sunday after being caught in a slide on Mount Glory and plummeting nearly 70 feet onto Highway 22. Hundere expected to be released today from St. John's Medical Center in Jackson.

Eric Rohr, 32, of Teton Village suffered a broken femur, broken clavicle and two cracked vertebrae Monday when he triggered an avalanche and was swept nearly 2,000 feet down a couloir in Granite Canyon in Grand Teton National Park. Rohr was flown to the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City that evening and had surgery on his leg, a friend said.

Both men were experienced backcountry users who chose to ski or snowboard in considerable avalanche danger. Both benefited from the help of eyewitnesses and other volunteers who rushed to their rescue.

Hundere, who works in landscaping and construction in Idaho, said Tuesday that he is fortunate to be alive. The slide carried him 50 feet before sending him over a 67-foot cliff just uphill of the Glory Bowl runout. He landed in the westbound lane of the highway and was buried in four feet of debris.

Hundere managed to keep one hand out of the snow. He used his other to clear breathing space in front of his mouth. His immediate thoughts were of his son, Oliver, 1, daughter, Ella, 3, and wife, Eva.

Seized by panic, he thought, "Oh, no ­ what did I do to my kids?" he said.

Next came "feeling like a complete idiot," he said. "You see that happen to other people and think, 'That's dumb. What were you thinking?'

"I made a small mistake that turned bigger."

Hundere was eager to try out a new snowboard and bindings Sunday. His season pass at Grand Targhee Resort is not valid on holiday weekends, so he opted to hike Mount Glory and descend its southeast ridge with his dog, Cash.

Ten inches of powder had fallen since early the previous day, and Bridger-Teton National Forest avalanche forecasters rated the danger as considerable, meaning human-triggered slides were probable.

Near the bottom of the ridge, Hundere found the snow to his liking and continued to make turns rather than head east into the Glory Bowl runout. He spotted a small jump and flew off it.

In the air he realized the jump was bigger than expected. The slope dropped off sharply, and Hundere saw the landing was steep. He cursed and thought, "I'm in trouble," he said. He dropped 10 to 15 feet and tried to stop his momentum by turning his board perpendicular to the slope and falling back, a maneuver known as a "butt check."

Sees cliff drop coming

Hundere was preparing to traverse out of danger when he started sliding. "I knew exactly what I was about to go over," he said.

Hundere was wearing a helmet and had a metal shovel in the pack on his back, which likely protected his spine, he said. The snow from the avalanche cushioned his impact on the road, he said.

Passing motorists immediately pulled over and began to dig Hundere out, joined by other skiers and snowboarders in the vicinity. Soon a swarm of probe poles and shovels was at work.

Within 30 seconds, Hundere was looking up at a "big, farmer kind of guy" wearing a black and red flannel shirt, he said. Another man, named Chuck, had emergency training and administered first aid. Other volunteers searched for Hundere's dog, which came through the Glory runout a short while later, unhurt.

"I feel very blessed," Hundere said. "For everyone who helped out, I want to give a heartfelt thank-you. ... I was amazed at how many people were there and willing to help."

'Cracked like glass'

Rohr, who works at the photography company Focus Productions and as a Mangy Moose bartender, was part of a party of four skiers and snowboarders who left the boundary atop Jackson Hole Mountain Resort to descend Granite Canyon.

Avalanche danger remained considerable Monday at high elevations, as forecasters warned of slabs deposited by winds.

An Exum mountain guide and coach for the Jackson Hole Ski Club, Rohr is known to ski Granite Canyon regularly. The group chose to descend Mile Long Couloir, a steep chute pocked with rocks. Rohr went first, tested the slope and made a few turns before the slide cut loose.

The snow "cracked like broken glass beneath his feet," said friend Carl Daavettila, who was not part of the group but spoke with Rohr afterward.

Rohr tried to reach a safe point to escape the slide, but the snow broke above him and was moving too fast, Daavettila said.

Park spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs said Rohr was swept between 1,800 and 2,000 feet, hit rocks and lost his skis, poles and pack. He was not buried.

A party of three skiers, who had descended a different route in Granite Canyon and were traversing toward Mile Long Couloir, witnessed the slide. They broke a trail through the powder and hiked 500 feet to reach Rohr.

One of the skiers, Braden Masselink, had wilderness rescue training and was carrying a first aid kit. He and others, including members of Rohr's party, covered the injured skier in blankets. Someone used a cell phone to call for help.

Rohr, who also is trained in wilderness rescue, felt soreness in his neck and instructed the others not to move him, Daavettila said.

Ski patrollers from the resort descended the chute and tended to Rohr as others stamped out a landing zone for a helicopter. Rescuers loaded Rohr onto the chopper, and he was flown to St. John's Medical Center.

Daavettila praised the passersby and patrollers for taking all the right steps in helping Rohr. "Everybody did a good job to come together as a team and probably saved his life," he said.