A group of skiers had to be rescued after triggering an avalanche which buried two people - one who only had their hand protruding from the snow.

The Mountain Safety Council says a party of six was ski touring in the Mt Ruapehu backcountry, near Glacier Knob, when they triggered an avalanche on Friday.

“Four members of the party were partially buried. One member was buried with only their face and arm free, and one member was completely buried with only their hand protruding.”

The completely buried member had an airway excavated within two minutes and everyone was fully excavated within 10 minutes.