Youth Survives Mountain Slide

An Idaho teenager was lucky to be able to walk away with only minor injuries after sliding several hundred feet down Teewinot Mountain.

Grand Teton National Park officials said the 16-year-old Idaho Falls boy suffered only cuts and scrapes in the fall, which occurred Sunday afternoon.

In a statement issued on Monday, rangers said the boy told them he fell on snow at about 11,500 feet while climbing the East Face of Teewinot. He slid several hundred feet and was partially buried in a moat.

The boy said it took him about an hour to dig himself out and begin descending the mountain.

Another climber reported the fall Sunday evening. He had met a 15-year-old climber descending the mountain who told him his partner had fallen.

At about 8 p.m., a ranger met the 16-year-old boy during his descent and helped the boy to the trailhead.