The avalanche death of an in-bounds skier on Saturday at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort capped off one of the Rocky Mountains’ worst weeks on record as seven people died in five separate slides.
David Nodine, a 31-year-old skier from Wilson, Wyoming, was killed by a massive in-bounds slide in Jackson’s double-black diamond rated Paintbrush-Toilet Bowl runs on Saturday by a slide that carried him and a companion for 200 yards.
According to official reports, Nodine was located within 10 minutes although being buried under as much as 8 feet of snow.
“On behalf of the entire Jackson Hole Mountain Resort staff we extend our deepest sympathies to the victim’s family and friends. This tragic accident is under thorough investigation,” JHMR President Jerry Blann said in an official statement.
Snow has been falling by the foot across the Rockies since well before Christmas, piling tons of on unconsolidated precipitation on top of what in many cases is a brittle, dehydrated layer of old snow. Silverton Mountain Resort in Colorado reported receiving more than 196 inches of snow in the past week as highway officials have effectively closed down the town due to avalanche danger on the high mountain roads.
On Christmas Day, 21-year-old Randall Davis of Tahoe City, California was killed at Squaw Valley USA by an avalanche in the heavily gladed Red Dog area. There were no witnesses to the accident that claimed Davis, and it was only after he was reported missing that ski patrol was able to find his body using avalanche transceivers and dogs.
In the backcountry, a 37-year-old snowboarder was killed while riding near Mt. Crested Butte, and four snowmobilers were killed by avalanche in two separate slides in Grand Lake, Colorado and Logan, Utah.
Barely two months into an avalanche prone period in the mountains that will likely last through May, nine people have already died in avalanche. Most unusual is the fact that three of those skiers have been killed by slides in-bounds. Last season, which set a modern record for the U.S., saw 36 deaths due to avalanche nationwide.
