Buried up to their neck: Plenty of avalanche close calls in past few weeks

Since the death of a Kalispell man in an avalanche earlier this month, there have been several more close-call avalanche incidents in the Flathead Valley, including a couple of reports where people were buried up to their necks in snow.

According to reports on the Flathead Avalanche Center website, on Feb. 20 at Doris Ridge a snowmobiler was caught in a slide and he was buried up to his neck in snow, with just his head and arm exposed. He received minor injuries according to the report.

In another incident on Feb. 15 a skier was caught and carried in the Whitefish Range about 20 feet with no injuries in an area known as “The Goolies,” near Canyon Creek.

“I was caught and carried roughly 30 feet before it stopped. I was buried to my neck but I was very close to the surface so I got myself out easily. I never would have thought I could have triggered something at that angle, which I estimate was maybe 30 degrees,” the skier reported.

On Feb. 12 a party reported a slide north of Coal Creek on a heavily treed northeast slope at 6,800 feet. A skier triggered the slide and went for a ride, but was able to grab a tree and self arrest as the slide went underneath him.

“Biggest fracture and slide I have ever witnessed in tightly spaced trees in 30 years of backcountry skiing. Definitely spooky out there. …” the reporting party noted on the Flathead Avalanche Center website.

In another close call near Whale Creek up the North Fork, skiers triggered an avalanche on Feb. 15 that ran close to 1,000 feet with a crown of 200 feet.

In that incident the skier was able to avoid being swept in a gully by skiing hard to the right. The skiers had done tests beforehand and thought it would be safer on a south slope.

On Feb. 18 a snowmobiler in the southern Whitefish Range near Canyon Creek triggered a slide that sent his sled tumbling down a slope into a tree. He was not injured though the sled went about 75 feet down the slope.

And then on Feb. 20 another skier on a split board reported riding out a slide on Dorothy’s while skiing with a party in the Whitefish Range.

“I should note that it definitely took some riding to get out of the avalanche. It was not like I just pulled off to the side....Pretty scary stuff. I was lucky to ride out of it. The experience will lead to a little more conservative decision making,” the skier noted.

The full reports are available on the Flathead Avalanche Center website.

With another round of storms expected to hit the region this week, the avalanche danger is likely to persist.

The danger on Monday was rated as “high” according to the center.

On Feb. 6 David Cano, 59, of Kalispell was killed in an avalanche up Wounded Buck Creek while snowmobiling with several other people.

The Flathead Avalanche Center gives daily avalanche reports. The website is: https://flatheadavalanche.org