Well known conservationist killed in Cooke City avalanche

A well-known conservationist with the Defenders of Wildlife was the victim of an avalanche on New Year's Eve day.

David Lee Gaillard, 44, of Bozeman, was buried in an avalanche about 2:20 p.m. while cross-country skiing near Pilot Peak in the Shoshone National Forest, south of Cooke City.

As the Northern Rockies representative for Defenders of Wildlife, Gaillard championed conservation of smaller predators, most notably wolverine, lynx and fisher.

"He loved being out in the mountains where those animals lived, particularly in the winter," Defenders of Wildlife Rocky Mountain region director Mike Leahy said. "He was a kind, generous and fun-loving person. He was a great colleague and friend."

Gaillard was skiing with his wife Kerry about four miles away from their motel in Cooke City when the avalanche swept him and the family dog away. She was behind him. According to a story in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Gaillard told his wife to head for the trees and safety as the avalanche struck.

Rescue crews later recovered his body. The Gaillards' Welsh corgi, Ole, survived and returned to Cooke City four days later.

According to an investigation by the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center, about three feet of snow had fallen in the 72 hours prior to the incident, and winds gusting to 70 mph had contributed to the unstable conditions.

The Gaillards had been warned about the dangerous conditions by other backcountry skiers about 1 1/2 miles into their trip. The other skiers had turned around. Kerry Gaillard also told investigators that the batteries in her avalanche transceiver were too weak to receive a signal from her buried husband.

A man from Sidney died several hours earlier the same day in another avalanche near Cooke City. Jody Verhasselt, 46, was snowmobiling north of Cooke City when he was buried in the slide. His two companions were able to locate Verhasselt and dig him out within 12-15 minutes, but they were unable to revive him.