A Sandpoint man died after being caught and buried in an avalanche while snowmobiling in the southern Selkirk Mountains of Idaho's northern panhandle on Friday.
The man was riding in the Fault Lake area on the western side of the Pack River drainage, according to the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center, about 21 miles north of Sandpoint or roughly between Priest Lake to the west and Bonners Ferry to the east. His riding partner was not caught and survived.
The Boundary County Office of Emergency Management identified the deceased rider as 54-year-old Lance J. Gidley of Sandpoint. Both the county and avalanche center stated that poor weather conditions and ongoing avalanche danger meant that rescuers couldn't recover Gidley's body until Saturday afternoon.
The Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center had issued an avalanche warning for Friday, March 1, indicating that large, deadly avalanches were almost certain. Avalanche forecasters cited more than 3 feet of fresh snow and dense slabs of wind-blown snow as dual avalanche concerns.
People are also reading…
"Dangerous avalanche conditions are present due to intense winds and wet storms," the forecasters wrote. "Avoid being in avalanche terrain. Natural avalanches have been observed. Human-triggered avalanches are very likely."
Separately, a snowmobiler died in an avalanche near Ahtanum Meadows in Washington, east of Darland Mountain and southeast of Mount Rainier, about 25 miles west of Yakima and 97 miles southeast of Seattle. The Northwest Avalanche Center reported that two snowmobilers were caught in the slide but only one was buried and killed.
The center issued a forecast Friday of considerable avalanche danger, meaning potentially large, deadly slides were likely.
Avalanches are possible on any slope 30 degrees or steeper, and can be triggered remotely and without warning from above, below or adjacent to a slope that steep. Avalanches are most likely to begin on slopes between 35 and 45 degrees.
Strong winds during storm cycles, like the one that impacted the Idaho Panhandle late last week, can create dense but very unstable slabs of wind-blown snow on the downwind, or leeward, sides of ridges, mountain tops, saddles and gullies. And fresh powder can take a few days to bond to older snow it accumulates on, leading to storm-slab avalanches.
According to the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center, first responders were dispatched at about 1:30 p.m. Friday to a report of a possible avalanche fatality, but "high avalanche danger and strong winter weather have delayed the mission." The center asked the public to avoid the Fault Lake Trail area.
The county office of emergency management reported that Gidley and his riding partner "encountered an avalanche," but that the partner was able to ride away from the slide. He attempted to find and rescue Ridley, who was wearing an avalanche beacon — a personal locator device considered essential for winter backcountry travel. The riding partner ultimately found Gidley dead under about 4 feet of avalanche debris.
On Saturday, a "group of experienced riders who were familiar with the area" joined personnel from the Boundary County Sheriff and the County Search and Dive Rescue Team in the recovery mission, according to the office of emergency management.
"The recovery operation took about nine hours due to the rugged terrain, challenging weather and the high risk of further avalanche," the office stated. "Boundary County Sheriff Dave Kramer commended the professional searchers and volunteers, some of whom were friends of the deceased man."
The northern Idaho death was the second avalanche fatality in the state so far this winter and the ninth in the U.S. The Washington fatality was the 10th in the U.S. and the most recent as of Monday, according to a national database of avalanche fatalities.
On Jan. 11, a backcountry skier died in an avalanche near Stevens Peak, Idaho, in the Silver Valley and just over the state line from Montana west of Missoula. One of the two surviving skiers in that incident was injured.
There has not been an avalanche fatality in Montana so far this winter, although skiers and snowmobilers have been caught and injured in slides across the western part of the state.