A backcountry skier is currently missing after backcountry skiing near Snoqualimie Summit. 43-year-old Monty Busbee of Maple Valley, WA parked his truck near the Lower Summit West parking lot on Saturday around 10am with the intention of skiing near the Commonwealth Basin and “Kendall Tree” area. We failed to return home on Saturday night.
Search and rescue crews searched for Monty late into the night last night but had to call off the search due to heavy snowfall and dangerous avalanche conditions.
30 search and rescue personnel are currently looking for Monty. The avalanche rating for the area is currently at “Considerable”.
Monty’s wife reported him missing on Saturday night at 7:45pm when he didn’t return home and she couldn’t reach him by cell phone.Â
Monty was known to backcountry ski with emergency and avalanche gear.
We are deeply hoping for a positive outcome from this search.
This is unlikely to work out well. Two recent deaths at Snoqualmie due to this recent dump. Tree well got the other guy. Sad.