Montana avalanche swallows visiting California skier.

One man died and another was seriously injured Friday around 1 p.m. while they were backcountry skiing in the Tobacco Root Mountains.

According to Madison County Sheriff Phil Fortner, the man who died was Benjamin Hirsch-McShane, 35, of San Francisco, California.

The skiers were part of a group of four men who had come from Utah and California to stay at the Bell Lake Yurt, according to Drew Pogge, who owns and operates the yurt. 

While the yurt's operators offer guided trips, ski mountaineering courses, and avalanche courses, Pogge said the skiers caught in Friday's avalanche were skiing alone and had received a detailed briefing about the conditions before they set off. 

“We let people (make their own) decisions," Pogge said. "That’s the beauty of the backcountry. They can take whatever risk they want. But, unfortunately, this ended very tragically.”

The skiers were reportedly ascending a slope in a "heavily treed" area when they heard the snowpack collapse and two of them were carried away in the ensuing avalanche, said Alex Marienthal, avalanche specialist with the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center.

The other two were reportedly able to grab onto trees to remain safe.