Two people were killed and two others rescued after an avalanche struck while they were backcountry snowmobiling on a Washington state mountain, officials said.
Paul Markoff, 38, of North Bend, and Erik Henne, 43, of Snoqualmie Pass, were enjoying the snow near Longs Pass in the mountains of northern Kittitas County at around 4 p.m. when they were killed, the Kittitas County Sheriff announced Saturday. What caused the avalanche was not clear.
The victims were accompanied by two others who survived.
The survivors were able send a distress signal with a satellite device, prompting a response from the sheriff’s office and Kittitas County Search and Rescue volunteers.
“Responders reached the remote area using snowmobiles and winter backcountry equipment and transported the two survivors out that evening,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release. “Due to hazardous conditions, a nighttime recovery operation for the deceased was not conducted.”
The teams returned to the area on Saturday and airlifted two victims to a search base, leaving them in the care of the Kittitas County Coroner’s Office.
The four men’s belongings, including two snowmobiles, were also recovered by the search team, according to the sheriff’s office.
“The Sheriff’s Office and KCSR extend condolences to the families and friends of those lost,” the sheriff’s office said.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center reported a separate avalanche Saturday in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, where it said a skier caused a wind slab to come down on him and then sweep up another member of his party who tried to come to his aid.
The skier suffered a dislocated shoulder when he grabbed a tree to stop his slide, the center said, but the two were otherwise able to regroup with the third, unaffected member of their party relatively unharmed.
The center noted that avalanche conditions, including warming weather, strong winds than can shape enticing cornices and drifts, and a large amount of fresh snow, are present through Monday.
Mountains in the West have been inundated with snow produced by a series of eastbound Pacific storms supercharged with atmospheric rivers that draw precipitation from tropical climes offshore.
The National Avalanche Center, operated by the U.S. Forest Service, reports five people have been killed so far this winter season. The tally includes the fatalities in Washington, as well as two in California on Dec. 26 and Jan. 5, and one in Wyoming on Dec. 20.
Heavy snow has been affecting Washington since earlier this week, with the biggest accumulations reported on mountains, according to the National Weather Service field office in Seattle. On Mount Baker, 34 inches of snow were recorded, while 25 inches of snow were reported at Stevens Pass.
More snow is forecast for the state next week, especially in the Olympic and northern Cascade Mountains, per the weather service. Rain is also forecast for the area, with flooding expected along the Skokomish River.
The National Avalanche Center recommends winter sports enthusiasts and sightseers should check weather and avalanche forecasts before traveling to mountain destinations, as well as carry lifesaving gear along with proper outerwear: a helmet, an avalanche beacon, an avalanche airbag, a collapsible avalanche probe and a small shovel.
