Park avalanche kills lone snowboarder

Brian Wright had climbed and descended Glacier Park's Mt. Shields dozens of times this winter before an avalanche on the northeast face of the mountain took his life March 31.

Park rangers investigating the slide's aftermath believe Wright, snowboarding alone at the time, triggered the large slab avalanche around 1 p.m., shortly after talking to his mother on his cell phone from the summit of the popular backcountry destination near Marias Pass. Two sets of tracks on the face of the mountain suggest he may have made multiple trips down on the mountain before triggering the slide.

The incident is the first avalanche-related death in Northwest Montana this season and the fourth in Montana. There have been 31 avalanche fatalities in the U.S. this winter, including 11 skiers and snowboarders.

The 37-year-old, who split his time between Whitefish and East Glacier, has been described as an avid outdoorsman who stood in a class of his own among winter backcountry recreationists in Glacier Park.

"He was out there every single day," said Jason Robertson of Whitefish, a close friend and regular ski partner of Wright's. "He maybe took a rest day once a month."

Robertson said Wright likely skied Mt. Shields more than anyone in the Park's history and that he had explored most of the peaks along the front range from the Canadian border south to Choteau.

"(Wright's death) is a huge loss," Robertson said. "He was one of those guys where there might never be another like him. He skied more than anyone."

Wright was employed at Whitefish Lake Golf Club in the summer and occasionally as a clerk at Glacier Park Trading Company in East Glacier, where snapshots of him hiking and skiing are encased in the glass tables at the back of the store.

Known by the nickname "Verbal" for his quiet nature, co-workers at both the Trading Company and Golf Club say Wright mostly kept to himself, but that he was well liked by everyone who knew him.

"He was a great guy," Robertson said. "He was quiet and kept to himself, but once you got to know him, he opened up."

The avalanche was started by a two-foot deep fracture just below Shield's summit. It then ran 2,000 vertical feet before funneling into a narrow, treeless chute that leads to the base of the mountain. The widest portion of the slide, in the upper reaches of the path, was 150 yards wide. Debris at the bottom measured 20-30 feet deep.

Wright's body was found by friends April 1 on top of the snow 200-300 yards above the toe of the slide. He likely fell 2,000 feet before his body came to rest.

Avalanche conditions in the backcountry had been moderate for some time before new snow fell across the region, creating dangerous conditions on certain slopes and where wind-loading took place.

The SNOTEL site on Flattop Mountain, just south of Marias Pass, recorded 17 inches of new snow between March 30-31. Izaak Walton Inn reported 4-8 inches of new snow in the same time period.

Glacier Country Avalanche Center's April 2 advisory rated avalanche danger between 5,000 and 7,500 feet as "considerable" on steep and wind-loaded slopes. The report said natural avalanches were possible, while human-triggered avalanches were probable.

Many of the peaks in the vicinity of Mount Shields receive substantial amounts of wind-loaded snow on east-facing slopes due to the nature of a consistent west-to-east wind. Often, huge cornices will form on these peaks.

The Marias Pass area was the site of an avalanche earlier this season when a skier triggered a slide Feb. 13 on the northeast aspect of Elk Mountain, a peak a few miles to the northeast of Mount Shields. No one was injured in that slide.

The Continental Divide along U.S. 2, including Shields, Elk Mountain and Snowslip Mountain, is a popular backcountry skiing and hiking destination due to its easy access. The area is also the site of frequent avalanches, particularly in the John Stevens Canyon, where slides have knocked freight trains off the tracks that run along the base of the mountains.

It's unclear if Wright was wearing an avalanche beacon or shovel at the time of the slide, but without a partner, transceivers are of no use.

Wright snowboarded alone "fairly often" when partners weren't available, according to Robertson.

"Traveling alone in the backcountry requires a different mind set," said Robertson, who has ascended many of Glacier Park's tallest peaks while climbing solo. "You don't have anyone to help make decisions," he said.