The Western USA had a bad week with avalanches.  Six people died in 5 different avalanches in Oregon, Utah, and Colorado between Saturday and Tuesday.  

This year, there have been 12 avalanche deaths in the USA, 6 of those happened in the past week.

Oregon: (wallowa avalanche center)

An avalanche in the wouth Wallowa Mountains near Cornucopia killed two cross-country skiers mid-day Tuesday.  The two deceased skiers were with 6 other cross country skiers.  Two other skiers suffered broken bones while 4 were uninjured.  All 6 skiers were from Seattle, WA.

Colorado: (colorado avalanche center)

Two separate avalanches killed two people in Colorado on Monday.

A 46-year-old skier died in the North Fork Swan River, south of Keystone, CO.  This skier was with another skier and both exited backcountry gates from Keystone ski resort.  Both were caught in the avalanche, on partially buried (airway uncovered) and the other was fully buried and killed.

A snowmobiler also perished near Kebler Pass west of Crested Butte, CO.  He was with another snowmobiler.  Both snowmobiler’s were caught in the avalanche.  One was partially buried, the other was fully buried and died.

Utah: (utah avalanche center)

Two separate avalanches killed two people in Utah on Saturday and Sunday last week.

One was a BYU student snowshoeing with friends in American Fork Canyon south of Salt Lake City.  She was pushed into a creek and buried by a small avalanche.

The other was a snowmobiler who was with 2 other snowmobilers.  He was buried 6-8 feet deep by an avalanche he triggered.  His friends dug him out within 20 minutes but he’d already perished.

Avalanche danger in all of these 3 states has been high the past week.

Please check avalanche ratings before venturing into the backcountry.