January 12, 2005, Avalanche Death at Snoqualmie

I am posting this for folks who may not live in the Puget Sound area. I imagine there will be a formal report on this in the future. <br><br>From: www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_0112...ncheaxSW.727275.html

Skier dies in avalanche at Snoqualmie Pass

09:11 PM PST on Wednesday, January 12, 2005


From KING5.com Staff and Wire Reports

SEATTLE - A 28-year-old skier died Wednesday afternoon after being buried in an avalanche at Alpental at Snoqualmie Pass, according to the King County Medical Examiner's office.

A spokesman for The Summit at Snoqualmie, which includes Alpental and three other ski areas, said the avalanche struck around 12:30 p.m., burying the skier below the International Cliffs, an area that was closed because there wasn't enough snow.

A friend who was skiing with the victim was partially buried, but was able to dig himself out, Summit spokesman Jon Pretty said.

Two other skiers were in the area at the time but weren't caught in the snow slide. One helped locate the buried skier, and the other notified ski patrol, Pretty said.

A ski patrol crew found the buried skier, who, like his friend, was wearing an avalanche beacon, about 40 minutes after the avalanche. He was unconscious and airlifted to Seattle, Pretty said.

The avalanche was triggered when snow at the base of International Cliffs broke loose, Pretty said.

There are signs posted in the area saying it's not open for skiing.

Alpental has a vertical drop of 2,280 feet and over 300 acres of skiable terrain.

A winter storm warning was in effect for the Cascades through Wednesday evening. Snow accumulations of around a foot of snow were expected, with a few locations receiving up to 18 inches of snow. The heaviest snow amounts were expected to be between Stevens and Snoqualmie passes.

The snowpack at the area was not particularly deep, however, but high winds can create unstable slabs of snow even when the overall risk is low.

"With the winds last night that we had up high, we get a lot of snow that loads up. It may not have to fall from the sky to build up a deep pocket," said Jay Wiseman, spokesman for the Alpental ski area.

I guess it's a little shocking that this accident happened in a ski area. However, here is an excerpt from the official avalanche forecast for the day of the accident:<br><br>....WEDNESDAY<br>Strong west winds and continued snowfall is expected Wednesday <br>mainly near and west of the crest. West winds may be strongest <br>and snowfall heaviest in the central Cascade passes namely <br>Stevens and Snoqualmie. This should maintain or continue to build <br>slab layers on lee aspects mainly near and west of the crest. <br>This should be mainly steeper east aspects at higher elevations <br>and in the central Cascade passes which is where human triggered <br>slab avalanche should be probable. Winds and snowfall should <br>begin to decrease Wednesday afternoon and evening. This should <br>allow the snowpack to start to stabilize and begin to slightly <br>decrease the avalanche danger.<br>

Ruxpercnd, there are now 4 threads on TAY which discuss this incident. It may be more productive if we consolidate our comments into one thread.

I guess it's a little shocking that this accident happened in a ski area.

<br>I think this is a mistake many of us subconsciously made yesterday, assuming a higher margin of safety because we were "at the ski area" - in reality, Alpental pre-season is just another big, steep mountain subject to all of the conditions that every mountain is . . . lesson learned.

My sympathies go out to anyone who knows the victim. There must be a lot of pain going around right now.<br><br>I've even seen some scary conditions while the area is open - traversing way to skiers right in Edelweiss bowl during a storm with strong west winds. Snow doesn't know where it is, eh?<br><br>I hope this isn't a portent of the near future - let's all stay vigilant! As has been noted repeatedly on TAY, it's a funky snowpack. It's easy to think "I know more, I can manage the risk" etc, but I try to remind myself that good runs are never totally risk free, no matter how careful I've been.

Big and scary avy debris is pretty much a weekly thing on Lower International, even when the area is open daily . . .