A backcountry skier was killed in an avalanche caused by his girlfriend on Friday in the mountains of Idaho, according to reports.
According to preliminary information, the girlfriend desperately tried to dig her boyfriend out of the five feet of snow, but he did not survive the accident. Report by Sawtooth Avalanche Center.
Officials said the pair, both experienced backcountry skiers, were descending Donaldson Peak in the Lost River Mountains in Idaho when the tragedy occurred.
The girlfriend, whose name has not been released, had taken off her skis and was walking down a part of the mountain when she triggered a small avalanche.
She was caught in the avalanche, causing a second, even larger avalanche, which cascaded onto her partner.
After calling for help, she used a rescue transceiver and probe pole to locate her boyfriend, who was trapped under five feet of snow.
She managed to get him out of the snow with a shovel and began CPR.
“Search and rescue teams responded and evacuated skier 1, but he did not survive the accident,” the Sawtooth Avalanche Center said in a statement.
The skier’s name is not listed in the report, but sources said told Ski Magazine The victim was a local ER doctor who was skiing with his girlfriend.
The tragedy occurred just one day after two skiers, ages 23 and 32, were killed in an avalanche in Utah’s Lone Peak Canyon.
The third skier caught in the avalanche managed to escape on his own and is in fair condition.
At least 16 people have been killed in avalanches this winter, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. An average of 30 people die in avalanches each year in the United States.
Avalanche safety experts say their job has become more difficult in recent years as climate change brings more extreme weather.
