™™
FREE BASIC TO ADVANCED ALPINE MOUNTAIN CLIMBING INSTRUCTION™
Home
| Information
| Photos
| Calendar
| News
| Seminars
| Experiences
| Questions
| Updates
| Books
| Conditions
| Links
| Search
The latest avalanche victim was only 13
Mukilteo girl's body recovered
By Jackson Holtz and Scott Pesznecker, Herald Writers
Published: Saturday, January 5, 2008
VERLOT -- A Mukilteo girl's body was brought down the mountain early Saturday
morning, as search and rescue workers
recovered the latest victim of one of the deadliest avalanche seasons in state
history.
The girl, 13, was hiking with a man and six other youngsters between 12 and 16
years old. They are all from the Mukilteo area
and were hiking in Mount Pilchuck's Lake 22 area Friday.
The group of family and friends is believed to have been hit by an avalanche
that began high above them, perhaps 500 feet,
which started when wetter, heavier snow caused a cornice failure, Snohomish
County sheriff's spokeswoman Rebecca Hover
said.
The avalanche funneled down the gully where the group was walking and overtook
several of them, Hover said.
A boy managed to dig himself free, and two girls were rescued by others in the
group who dug them out with poles. Members
of the group spent about an hour trying to find the third girl and hiked out to
reach help.
They called 911 at 4:45 p.m. from the Verlot ranger station, about two miles
west on the Mountain Loop Highway.
The avalanche hit them about 2:30 p.m., after they'd already decided to return
to the trailhead because of worsening weather.
They were on the trail, between the 2,300 and 2,500 foot level, Hover said.
Aid crews from the Robe Valley Fire Department treated three of the children at
the scene for scrapes and bruises. No one
needed hospitalization, Hover said.
Two dozen members of the Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue team and
Everett Mountain Rescue members
found the girl’s body shortly before 10 p.m. under about five feet of snow in
the general area of the avalanche.
The victim's family has been notified. Her name has not been released.
Two other people from Snohomish County are among the eight people who already
have died this season in avalanches in
Washington.
An Everett woman, 43, died Tuesday when her snowmobiling party was engulfed in a
snow slide. A Brier man, 22, died before
Christmas on Mount Rainier while snowshoeing.
December storms have created a dangerously unstable snowpack in the mountains,
experts said.
Rising and falling freezing levels, windstorms and unusually deep snow
accumulations have set up perfect conditions for
avalanches.
Weather, wind and people walking or riding snowmobiles on the snow can trigger a
deadly slide.
Powdery snow can quickly turn into heavy, concrete-like ice under the tremendous
force of an avalanche, said Kenny Kramer,
an avalanche meteorologist with the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center.
Most people buried in an avalanche die of asphyxiation within 30 minutes, Kramer
said.
The Lake 22 trailhead sits at 1,000 feet and the trail ends at the mountain lake
at about 2,500 feet. Snow clings to the high,
sheer cliffs above the lake year round.
On Friday, snow likely was piled high from recent storms.
A strong winter storm was forecast to move through the region during the
weekend, said Dana Felton, a forecaster at the
National Weather Service in Seattle.
Heavy rain, high winds and lower temperatures were forecast for the Cascade
foothills, he said. Snow levels were forecast at
3,000 feet, but were only expected to drop during the day Saturday. Snow in the lowlands is predicted beginning Sunday.
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080105/NEWS01/79866085&news01ad=1
Read more . . .
AVALANCHE AVOIDANCE
SPOT Satellite Messenger "PLB" reviewed and recommended
Young Bend man dies in back county avalanche
What is an avalanche cord?
Avalanche training courses - understanding avalanche risk
How is avalanche risk described and rated by the professionals?
pdf table
How can I avoid dying in an avalanche?
Known avalanche slopes near Bend, OR?
What is a PLB?
Can I avoid avalanche risk with good gear and seminars?
pdf file
ALPINE CLIMBING ON SNOW AND ICE
Winter mountaineering hazards - streams and lakes
Is long distance backpacking part of "traditional mountaineering"?
How long is the traditional alpine mountaineering ice axe?
What about climbing Mt. Hood?
What is a good personal description of the south side route on Mount Hood?
What should I know about travel over hard snow and ice?
How can I learn to self belay and ice axe arrest?
6 pdf pages
What should I know about snow caves?
What should I know about climbing Aconcagua?
AVALANCHES
US National Avalanche Accidents Database
Climbers swept by avalanche while descending North Sister's Thayer Glacier Snowfield
Three personal experiences with avalanches
Mount Hood avalanche proves fatal for members of climbing group
Climbers swept by avalanche while descending North Sister's Thayer
Glacier Snowfield
Snowshoer dies in backcountry avalanche in Washington State
Young Bend man dies in remote backcountry avalanche
Recent deaths cause concern over avalanche beacons
Skilled member of The Mountaineers killed in avalanche
Basic Responsibilities of the cross country skier
Avalanche avoidance a practical approach to avalanche safety
Tumalo Mountain a wintertime treat
Fatal Mount Hood avalanche described by Climbing Ranger
SNOWSHOES AND CRAMPONS
Why do you like GAB crampons for traditional mountaineering?
What should I know about the new snowshoe trails
What are technical snowshoes?
Which crampons are the best?
What about Boots and Shoes?
YOUR ESSENTIAL SUMMIT PACK
What are the new Ten Essential Systems?
What does experience tell us about Light and Fast climbing?
What is the best traditional alpine mountaineering summit pack?
What is Light and Fast alpine climbing?
What do you carry in your day pack?
Photos?
What do you carry in your winter day pack?
Photos?
What should I know about "space blankets"?
Where can I get a personal and a group first aid kit?
Photos?
