Snowboarder caught in Canyon Creek avalanche

A snowboarder was partially buried by an avalanche in the Canyon Creek drainage on Tuesday, Feb. 25,  just beyond the Whitefish Mountain Resort boundary, while riding with two friends.

Backcountry snow conditions are considered extremely hazardous. Three days earlier, on Saturday, Feb. 22, two separate groups of snowmobilers had close calls with avalanches, also in the Whitefish Range.

According to the Flathead Avalanche Center, the three snowboarders had just finished riding down from Flower Point in an area near Banana Chutes on Tuesday. They were hiking back to the resort along Canyon Creek Road snowmobile trail when a natural avalanche released from the Skook Chutes area, north of the road.

Debris crossed the groomed snowmobile trail. One man was buried up to his neck, leaving one arm sticking out of the debris, while another snowboarder was swept from his feet but able to swim out.

“Just as we were reaching the top of the hike out, we heard a boom, and an avalanche descended on us from the opposite face,” one of the snowboarders said.

The partially buried snowboarder was quickly located and dug out. No one was seriously injured. All of the snowboarders were wearing avalanche beacons and carrying shovels and probes.

The crown of the slide was estimated to be about 2-3 feet deep.

The incident comes on the heels of another close call in the same area on Mount Skookoleel on Feb. 15 when a snowmobiler triggered a slide that also crossed Canyon Creek Road and buried four people. No one was seriously injured in that slide.

The north-facing gladed slopes immediately below Flower Point are a popular backcountry area for skiers and snowboarders who hike outside the resort boundary.

“Both motorized and non-motorized backcountry users recreate in Canyon Creek, and it’s extremely important to remember that Canyon Creek Road is a terrain trap,” Flathead Avalanche Center director Erich Peitzsch noted in the center’s Feb. 26 advisory. “There is nowhere to escape with such massive objective hazard hanging above you.”

On Saturday, six snowmobilers traveling in the McGinnis Creek area off the North Fork Road had a close call when one of the riders rode up a slope and triggered a slide.

The man on the slope was knocked off his snowmobile but was able to deploy an air bag he was wearing. The slide carried him about 150-200 yards down the slope. He was able to dig himself out.

Another of the riders was able to stay on his snowmobile as it was hit by the edge of the slide. He was carried about 70 yards down the slope. A third rider got away from his snowmobile, which was buried at the toe of the avalanche.

The snowmobilers estimated the avalanche was 200 yards wide, and debris traveled about 1,000 feet vertically downslope.

That same day, seven people on snowbikes and snowmobiles traveling in the China Basin area in the Whitefish Range also had a close call after a snowbiker riding in front triggered an avalanche.

The slide knocked the rider in the group off his machine and carried him downslope about 30-40 feet, where he ended up on top of debris with no injuries.

The China Basin avalanche was estimated to be about 700 feet wide and about 4-5 feet deep.

Avalanche danger continues to be rated high with persistent slabs present in all mountain ranges around the Flathead.

“We are in a period of unusual conditions, and our snowpack is dangerous right now,” Peitzsch said. “Unusual conditions breed unusual avalanches, and our current snowpack demands respect in the form of very conservative decision making, extremely cautious route finding, and avoiding run-out zones of all avalanche paths.”

Peitzsch cautioned all backcountry users to take the hazards seriously.

“Right now the snowpack will deceive you if you try and play the game,” he said. “It may not show you its cards by collapsing or cracking, which makes it even more difficult to assess.”

For more information, visit online at www.flatheadavalanche.org.