Jackson Hole Mountain Resort ski patroller Mark “Big Wally” Wolling was still listed in critical condition Thursday afternoon in the Intensive Care Unit of the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, his father said.

Wolling was buried for 10 minutes in an avalanche Wednesday morning in the resort’s Cheyenne Bowl. He had no detectable pulse when found and freed, but patrollers rushed him to a clinic in Teton Village, where medical workers got his heart pumping, resort officials said.

“About all we can do is hope for his recovery,” Wolling’s father, Spencer, said in a telephone interview Thursday. “As far as we can tell, he’s getting excellent care.”

The ski patroller has been in a coma that doctors deepened, said Mike Fischer, one of three Jackson Hole friends who have been with him since his accident. Fischer spoke in a telephone interview.

Friends have set up a Web site through www.carepages.com that provides medical updates. Users must register to read the updates, and they also can post messages to Wolling and his family.

In addition to his father, Wolling was visited Thursday by his mother, Mildred, and sister, Sue.

“We saw him today and he looks good,” Spencer Wolling said.

Doctors have kept Wolling cool and sedated as part of their treatment, Fischer said. By today, they anticipate warming him up, weaning him from drugs and initiating neurological tests, he said.

An obvious worry centers on possible oxygen deprivation before Wolling’s revival, his father said. In addition to the 10-minute burial, the patroller spent six minutes in a rescue toboggan and another eight minutes in the clinic before medical workers detected a pulse, according to information resort officials provided.

“We just don’t know if the loss of oxygen impaired any of his functions,” Spencer Wolling said.

The anticipated neurological tests will not be a definitive indication of potential recovery, Fischer said doctors told him.

“They can’t just put a machine on and find out,” he said.

He said there appeared to be no significant physical trauma.

Spencer Wolling said friends and family may not get answers immediately.

“We may have to wait a few days,” he said.

Wolling was on routine avalanche hazard reduction duties Wednesday when he was caught in the slide. The mountain was not yet open to the public when the avalanche ran.

Wolling had thrown one hand charge on the slope in Cheyenne Bowl without provoking a slide. He skied on to the slope, followed by his patrol partner. He then threw two more hand charges, which fractured the slope above them.

Wolling’s partner clung to a tree. After the slide, he found Wolling in debris well down the 1,000-foot-long avalanche path using a radio transceiver. Wolling was uncovered from under about 6 feet of snow.