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County has most slide deaths
Avalanche analysis shows young men skiing in southern Tetons make up bulk of victims.

By Angus M. Thuermer Jr.

A spate of avalanche deaths in the last three winters has made Teton County the top spot in the country for such fatalities, an avalanche forecaster said Monday.

Ten people have been killed by avalanches in the county during the last three winters, more than 10 percent of the 94 fatalities in the United States, according to statistics compiled by federal avalanche centers and this paper.

The 10 Teton County deaths during the period represents an unprecedented figure; in the previous decade there was an average of one avalanche death every two winters, according to an analysis by the News&Guide. The tally is significant and worrying, a Jackson Hole avalanche forecaster with the Bridger-Teton National Forest said.

"Our community has certainly established itself as the leader in avalanche fatalities in modern times ­ the last three years," forecaster Bob Comey said. "It's a very significant statistic and very significant to the community."

A review of the 10 deaths and the circumstances surrounding them show several patterns. Victims tended to be young male skiers who were caught in steep, southern Teton Range terrain when slide danger was rated "considerable," records show.

"That fits all the criteria they teach at the national avalanche school," Comey said. "Their skiing skills exceed their avalanche skills."

Records show that nine of the 10 Teton County victims were men. The average age of those who died was 31.3 years.

Seven of the deaths were in the southern Teton Range. Victims did not have to extend themselves to reach dangerous slopes. Eighty percent of the Teton County victims were within an hour of the trailhead. One was on a full-day trip, another on an overnight excursion.

Comey said that points to the easy access in the area.

"With Teton Pass, the access from Targhee and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, you have instant access to very active avalanche terrain," he said.

Highway 22 runs over Teton pass, giving skiers and snowboarders an easy lift up more than 2,000 vertical feet to the spine of the range. The two ski resorts have lifts and open-gate policies that allow customers to ski into unpatrolled areas.

Equipment also has contributed to easier access, Comey said. Today, there is "just a tremendous difference in the availability of equipment for non-telemark backcountry skiers," he said. "It's a lot easier for an accomplished alpine skier to jump into randonnee gear and get into this avalanche country from these access points."

As few as 10 years ago, backcountry skiers had to learn how to telemark, or ski with a free heel, a process that usually took a period of time and involved learning on shallower slopes. Randonnee gear allows the skier's heel to be attached to the ski on the descent, giving more control on steeper terrain and in difficult conditions, like heavy or crusted snow.

In 70 percent of the Teton County deaths, terrain was a key factor; the victims were either swept over cliffs, were trapped in gullies or were carried significant vertical distances, some approaching 1,000 feet.

"I think it's a potential contributer for these incidents being fatalities," Comey said of the terrain. Had the incidents not involved the cliffs, gullies or long falls, some of the victims might have survived, he said.

Records also show that victims ventured out into the face of danger. The average forecasted slide danger at the time of the 10 deaths was slightly higher than considerable, a condition when human-triggered avalanches are probable. The scale runs from low to moderate, considerable, high and extreme.

"We used to say most people die in moderate hazard," Comey said. "It seems for our community, considerable is when people are getting caught in the modern days. I think that's a trend not only in our little area but in this country."

"Are people paying attention to forecast?" Comey asked. "That's a hard thing to gauge. Did they check the forecast before they went? If they did, did they put that into their decision-making process?"

Comey said the avalanche hotline ­ an Internet and phone service available at 733-2664 and jhavalanche.org ­ had approximately 250,000 contacts this winter, up 39 percent from the winter before, 142 percent from the prior season and 273 percent more than the 1999-2000 winter.

Comey also believes that all the victims, or someone in their parties, triggered the fatal slides.

Six of those who died were skiers, three were snowboarders and one was riding a snowmobiler. Comey said that did not fit with national or regional trends as snowmobilers usually accounting for more deaths. But, he said, one doesn't have to expand the sample area far to find an increasing number of snowmobile victims.

Forty percent of those killed were solo skiers or snowboarders. Forty percent died of trauma, the rest by suffocation.

"I think the 40 percent 'alone' and 40 percent 'trauma' are significant, even though they are not above 50 percent," Comey said. The lessons are obvious: Those who go solo can't expect help and even when help is available, it may do no good.

"The bottom line is don't get caught," Comey said.

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