Avalanche victim couldn't deploy airpack in time in fatal slide

A snowmobiler killed in an avalanche north of Whitefish was unable to deploy his protective airbag pack after he triggered a slide that sent him into a barrel roll down the steep slope.

Flathead Avalanche Center has released an incident report that details exactly what happened before and after the fatal slide Jan. 23 that killed 33-year-old Kalispell resident Geoffrey Richard Caldbeck.

According to the report, Caldbeck and two of his friends met that morning at the Olney parking lot of the groomed trail to Upper Whitefish Lake. All three were equipped with avalanche transceivers, shovels and probes. They all also wore avalanche airbag backpacks that can be deployed during a slide to help keep a victim above the snow surface. Caldbeck was also wearing protective body armor.

All three men were described as highly skilled snowmobilers who had more than 20 years of experience riding in avalanche terrain.

They left the groomed trail to ride into Swede Creek and up technical terrain to Haines Pass. According to one of the riders, they were trying to get into the upper elevations to find the best snow.

At about 1:30 p.m., after reaching an area known as “Razorback,” they decided to start heading back to the trailhead. The group found an open slope to descend to their tracks from their earlier approach.

The first snowmobiler walked to the edge of the slope to inspect the terrain before safely riding to the bottom. He then signaled for Caldbeck to descend a bit farther down the ridge.

The first snowmobiler moved his machine out of the way, and when he looked back up the slope he saw Caldbeck and his sled log rolling down the hill. That’s when he realized an avalanche was happening.

Snow from the slide piled up to the first snowmobiler’s neck as he tried to keep an eye on Caldbeck.

It took the man about 10 minutes to dig himself out before he could begin searching for Caldbeck. The third snowmobiler in the group stayed on top of the ridge so he wouldn’t set off another slide.

Using his transceiver, the man narrowed the search radius and began digging. It took him 25 minutes before he found Caldbeck lying face down, buried under 5-6 feet of debris.

The third man descended the slope and both attempted to resuscitate Caldbeck until they “could not physically do it anymore.”

The survivors then rode out for help and Caldbeck’s body was recovered the next day by a Two Bear Air helicopter.

Geoffrey was the son of Ron Caldbeck, who owns Winter Wonderland Sports, a snowmobile and ski rental business in Olney. He had a daughter and a wife, Tanya, who is pregnant with twins.

A site investigation revealed the slide occurred on a 35 degree slope. The crown was 2 to nearly 5 feet deep and 200 feet wide. It ran about 200 vertical feet.

The avalanche released on a layer of weak, faceted snow and decomposing surface hoar below a rain crust that formed in mid-January.

Investigators noted the slope was cross-loaded by wind. They also noted the gully at the bottom of the slope was a terrain trap, upping the consequences of an avalanche.

Avalanche danger on Jan. 23 was rated as considerable above 5,000 feet.

According to the Flathead Avalanche Center, current travel in avalanche terrain requires careful snowpack evaluation, cautious route-finding and conservative decision making.

The Swede Creek incident was the first fatal avalanche in the Flathead area since February 2012.

Check the daily avalanche advisories at www.flatheadavalanche.org.