Four dead in avalanches at Stevens and Snoqualmie passes ( WA )

Seattle Times ^ | February 20, 2012 | Brian M. Rosenthal, Craig Welch, Mike Lindblom and Lark Turner

[george76]

Separate avalanches claimed four lives on Sunday: three skiers in an out-of-bounds area near the Stevens Pass ski resort and a snowboarder in an out-of-bounds area of The Summit at Snoqualmie.

...

One man kept his head above the snow by clinging to a tree. Saugstad, who skis frequently in Europe, where inflatable emergency air bags are popular in the backcountry, opened hers. It allowed her to stay largely on the slide's surface.

The three who died ended up buried deep, one landing just a few feet from Saugstad, who couldn't move but survived because her head and hands were above the snow.

[wideminded]

One man kept his head above the snow by clinging to a tree.

Note to self: If you're ever in an avalanche ...

[grobdriver]

Note to self: Stay the hell out of out-of-bounds areas!

Could be they're marked that way for a reason.

[Pontiac]

One man kept his head above the snow by clinging to a tree. Saugstad, who skis frequently in Europe, where inflatable emergency air bags are popular in the backcountry, opened hers. It allowed her to stay largely on the slide's surface.

I am surprised that these haven’t become common on US slopes. I read about these at least 10 years ago.

[BubbaBobTX]

I have skied Stevens Pass often and skied the out of bounds area they are referring to in the article when the conditions were just right. Based on the wet snowfall they had and the avalanche warnings the skiers were asking for trouble. Out of bounds essentially means they are leaving the patrolled ski area.

[DJ MacWoW]

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[midwyf]

AMEN!!!!!
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