SALT LAKE CITY?An avalanche fell in the backcountry near a Utah ski resort Saturday afternoon, killing two people.

The two buried in the avalanche, ages 18 and 19, were in a party of about a dozen snowboarders, officials said.

The victims left a chair lift at Brighton Ski Resort to traverse 10,321-foot Pioneer Ridge. They triggered an avalanche 6-8 feet deep that swept 800 vertical feet down a slope.

The avalanche happened near Pioneer Peak, off Brighton property.

Searchers used dogs to recover the bodies of the two snowboarders.