B737-300 CREW EXECUTED A GPWS EMER ESCAPE MANEUVER WITH CLB UNTIL THE GPWS TERRAIN WARNING STOPPED. ACFT WAS ABOVE THE MVA AT THE TIME OF OCCURRENCE IN SLC CLASS E AIRSPACE.

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ON THE EVENING OF FEB/SUN/03; I WAS IN COMMAND OF A FLT FROM ONT TO SLC. THE FO WAS FLYING THE ACFT. AS WE APCHED SLC FROM THE SSW; SLC APCH INITIALLY ASSIGNED US RWY 34L; AND SUBSEQUENTLY ASSIGNED RWY 34R. REGIONAL JET TFC APCHING FROM THE SE WAS BEING VECTORED TO RWY 34L; CAUSING OUR FLT PATHS TO CROSS AND US TO BE ASKED TO DSND BELOW THE RJ. OUR LAST CLRNC FOR DSCNT PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT WAS TO DSND TO 9000 FT; EXPEDITIOUSLY THROUGH 10000 FT; I ASSUME TO PROVIDE CLRNC FROM THE RJ. DURING THAT DSCNT; WE RECEIVED A GPWS TERRAIN WARNING PASSING THROUGH APPROX 10000 FT. WE IMMEDIATELY PERFORMED THE TERRAIN AVOIDANCE MANEUVER; CLBING TO 11000 FT. DURING THE LATTER PART OF THE DSCNT AND THE MANEUVER; I HAD THE RJ IN SIGHT; LOSING SIGHT WITH IT AS WE LEVELED AT 11000 FT DUE TO WX; BUT KNOWING OUR PATHS HAD CROSSED AND WERE DIVERGENT. THE GPWS WARNING CEASED SOON AFTER THE MANEUVER WAS INITIATED. ATC WAS TOLD OF THE WARNING AND MANEUVER. ATC INFORMED US THAT THE MVA IN THAT SECTOR WAS 9000 FT. WE WERE INSTRUCTED TO TURN TO 310 DEGS TO INTERCEPT THE RWY 34R LOC; WHICH WE DID; CONTINUED THE APCH AND LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. PERHAPS XING TFC TO LAND AT OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE AIRFIELD AT NIGHT IN THE WX IS NOT A GOOD IDEA. AN EXPEDITED DSCNT TO THE MVA IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN IS PROBABLY NOT THE BEST IDEA EITHER. GPWS WORKED. EXCELLENT SIMULATOR TRAINING REALLY SHOWED HERE. FO REACTED IMMEDIATELY AND APPROPRIATELY. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 573601: DURING DSCNT TO 9000 FT MSL NEAR FFU; RECEIVED GPWS WARNING. I EXECUTED 'STANDARD RECOVERY' PROCS. INITIALLY; WE WERE CLRED FROM 15000 FT MSL APPROX 15 NM SSW OF FFU TO 11000 FT ON A 010 DEG HDG TO INTERCEPT RWY 34R LOC AT SLC. AT APPROX 12500 FT; I PUT 9000 FT IN THE MCP ALT WINDOW AND '-2000' IN THE 'VERT SPD' WINDOW FOR A 2000 FPM DSCNT. AT APPROX 9500 FT MSL; WE RECEIVED A GPWS TERRAIN WARNING. I DISENGAGED BOTH AUTOTHROTTLE AND AUTOPLT. I ESTIMATE THE WARNINGS STOPPED AS WE WERE PASSING 10000 FT IN THE CLB. CTLR STATED HE NEVER SHOWED US BELOW 9100 FT MSL. WE RPTED THIS INCIDENT TO MAINT SO THE ENGS COULD BE INSPECTED FOR POSSIBLE OVER BOOST.