2007 — Feb 17-18, Avalanche Deaths; Utah (4); Montana (2); Idaho (1) — 7
— 7 USA Today. “Utah Records 4th Avalanche Death,” February 22, 2007.
Idaho (1)
— 1 Palisades Peak Area, ID, Feb 18. American Avalanche Association.
Montana (2)
— 2 Mount Baldy, ~20 miles from Townsend, Feb 17. American Avalanche Association.
Utah (4)
— 1 Ogden, Hells Canyon, Feb 18, skier. Utah Avalanche Center.
— 1 Salt Lake, Gobblers Knob skier from Norway, Feb 21. Utah Avalanche Center.
— 1 Signal Mountain, Feb 17. Snowmobiler.
— 1 Uintas, Buck Basin, snowmobiler, Feb 17. Utah Avalanche Center.
Narrative Information
Avalanche.org on Idaho avalanche: “Nicholas Gus Steinmann, 26, died near Idaho’s Palisades Peak on Saturday after companions found him but could not resuscitate him. Two of his three companions, also on snowmobiles, were caught in the slide and had to be dug free by the fourth member of the party.”[1] (American Avalanche Association. “Detailed Accident Report… Palisades Peak Area.”)
Avalanche.org on MT avalanche: “Three snowmobilers were caught and buried in an avalanche resulting in two fatalities in the Big Belt Mountains northeast of Townsend, MT. The avalanche released on a southeast facing, wind-loaded slope. The slope angle was approximately 35-40 degrees, with the crown face averaging 3 feet deep. The avalanche was estimated to be 300 feet wide and 400 feet vertical with a run-out angle of 24 degrees and debris 10-15 feet deep. The avalanche was triggered by the party on the slope.”[2] (American Avalanche Association. “Detailed Accident Report…Mount Baldy…” Avalanche.org.)
Utah Avalanche Center on Buck Basin avalanche: “Five young snowmobilers, four males and one female (16-19 years old), began their day snowmobiling in the terrain surrounding the accident site. Most of them were wearing avalanche rescue gear, though those details are still being sifted through. Many clues to instability were missed along the way, including natural avalanches close to the accident site. In addition, at least one large hard slab avalanche was triggered without incident, about a ¼ mile north of the accident site prior to the fatality. This slide was 2’-3’ deep, 250’ wide, running about 150’ vertically. It most likely emboldened the group, luring them deeper into the avalanche dragons den. This group was very familiar with the terrain and had triggered small avalanches in the area on past outings.
“Around 16:00 the group traveled to the southwest of the avalanche they just triggered and regrouped at the bottom of a south facing slope. Several riders climbed the 32 degree slope above them without incident. Sixteen year old Zachary Holmes began climbing the slope too, but when he neared the top, he began “side-hilling” towards a steeper adjacent slope which had more of an easterly aspect. As he changed aspect and slope angle, he triggered a large hard slab avalanche 2’-4’ deep and 300’-325’ wide. His partners turned their beacons on to receive and began searching. There was plenty of confusion and several random holes were dug 75’ uphill from where Zachary was finally located, buried 3’ under his snowmobile which was sticking out of the snow. After he was found, two young men stayed on the scene and began CPR while a male and female rode back to the trailhead to make a cell phone call and alert local authorities. Much to their dismay their phones didn’t work at the trailhead, but a family with an “OnStar” system in the vehicle placed a call and Wasatch County Search and Rescue was dispatched. Back at the scene, as the older brother performed CPR an Air-med helicopter located the accident site and dropped a flight nurse off at the scene. Zachary was flown to a local hospital where he died of traumatic injuries.” (Utah Avalanche Center. Accident: Buck Basin.)
Utah Avalanche Center on Hells Canyon avalanche: “A father and his two sons were skiing at Snowbasin resort. Later in the day, they headed out-of-bounds into the Hell’s Canyon area, an area north of Snowbasin where avalanche hazard is not mitigated with explosives, nor patrolled. Their objective was to ski powder. The group had little or no avalanche training and had no rescue gear. While descending, the sons skied ahead of their father and got separated. The details are not clear, but a slide was triggered and Brian Schwartz the seventeen year-old son was caught in the slide. Brian was swept approximately 1500 vertical feet down the slope and was buried. He had significant trauma to his face and head and appeared to have died of trauma. Brian’s father and other bother arrived at the site some time after the slide had happened. They found one of Brian’s skis and continued to look for him around the area….” (Utah Avalanche Center. “Accident: Hells Canyon.”)
Utah Avalanche Center on Gobblers Knob avalanche: “A party of three experienced backcountry skiers from Norway, familiar with the Wasatch terrain, set out for a day of ski touring in the Gobblers Knob/Mt. Raymond area. According to reports, the victim, seeking more challenging terrain, left his two partners at the Gobblers/Raymond divide and continued to the summit of Gobbler’s Knob with the plan to meet back at the trailhead within the hour. After waiting at the car for some time, the remaining two called 911 to initiate a search. A helicopter with personnel using night vision goggles verified tracks going into an avalanche high on the peak with none coming out. The body recovery efforts by both Salt Lake Country Search and Rescue and Wasatch Backcountry Rescue began the following morning. The three Norwegians were all wearing rescue gear and had called the avalanche forecast that morning. The Utah Avalanche Center had rated the danger as ‘CONSIDERABLE on slopes steeper than about 35 degrees facing northwest through northeast through southeast, where dangerous avalanches 1 to 3 feet deep can be triggered by people.’ The forecaster, weary of the three previous fatalities that week, implored people to ‘Back off the steep stuff – if the close calls continue, someone else is going to get killed or hurt’.” (Utah Avalanche Center. “Accident: Gobblers Knob.”)
Utah Avalanche Center on Signal Mountain avalanche: “The accident happened in a popular snowmobiling area of rolling hills with short, slopes. The victim was high-marking a slope when he triggered the avalanche. Since there were trees at the bottom, he could not outrun the avalanche. He was not wearing a beacon. He was with two other snowmobilers during the day. They were separated at the time of the accident. The two others did not think anything about the fact that they were separated… They returned to an area where…[he] should have shown up. When he didn’t, they knew something was wrong. Both the victim and his snowmobile were completely buried. Companions at the scene called for a rescue, but before rescuers could arrive, they randomly dug the search area, which was fairly small—70 x 30 feet. They found his snowmobile and while digging it out, they found the victim’s hand. He was buried sitting up with his head 2-3 feet deep and his hand was reaching upward. The victim did not respond to CPR.” (Utah Avalanche Center. “Accident: Signal Mountain.”)
Feb 22: USA Today: “SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The body of a 37-year-old Norwegian man who disappeared while skiing the backcountry in the Wasatch Mountains was discovered Thursday, the fourth avalanche death in Utah in less than a week….Four people — two skiers and two snowmobilers — have died in human-triggered avalanches in Utah since Saturday. Three people died in avalanches last weekend in Montana and Idaho.” (USA Today. “Utah Records 4th Avalanche Death,” Feb 22, 2007.)
Sources
American Avalanche Association. “Detailed Accident Report…Mount Baldy…” Avalanche.org. Accessed 8-21-2015 at: http://www.avalanche.org/data.php?date=2006-2007&sort=&id=389
American Avalanche Association. “Detailed Accident Report…Palisades Peak Area.” Accessed 8-21-2015 at: http://avalanche.org/data.php?date=2006-2007&sort=&id=386
USA Today. “Utah Records 4th Avalanche Death.” 2-22-2007. Accessed at: http://www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/2007-02-22-utah-avalanche_x.htm
Utah Avalanche Center. Accident: Buck Basin. Accessed 8-21-2015 at: https://utahavalanchecenter.org/avalanches/17445
Utah Avalanche Center. “Accident: Gobblers Knob.” Accessed 8-21-2015 at: https://utahavalanchecenter.org/avalanches/17448
Utah Avalanche Center. “Accident: Hells Canyon.” Accessed 8-21-2015 at: https://utahavalanchecenter.org/avalanches/17447
Utah Avalanche Center. “Accident: Signal Mountain.” Accessed 8-21-2015 at: https://utahavalanchecenter.org/avalanches/17446
[1] Appears to be copy of Jacksonholenewsandguide.com article “Sledders unprepared,” by Angus M. Thuermer Jr., dated 2-20-2007.
[2] Cites an “official report from the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center.”