Mountain Loop Takes Another

Last night while having dinner at Friend A's house, the wife got a call from Friend B with whom she and A had gone snowshoeing on Friday. Friend B was calling because she had read the newspaper and discovered a story about an avalanche that happened on the trail they took.

A group of youths aged 12 to 16 and an adult were hiking near Lake 22, a popular trail off the Mountain Loop Highway east of Granite Falls, when the avalanche hit Friday afternoon, said spokeswoman Rebecca Hover with the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.

Tragically, the avalanche claimed the life of a 13-year old girl. Frighteningly, it had to have happened only minutes after our wife and friends passed the group on the trail and the spot where it happened.

Apparently our wife and friends walked by the group on the way up the trail. Half an hour later, they made it to the lake, ate a quick lunch and headed back down having never heard or seen a thing to make them worry. These are three women with a lot of wilderness experience.

They did say that on the way back down, they passed a spot where there were no footprints in the snow and realized that an avalanche must have occurred. But they saw no one around and when they got to the trail head, the other car that had been there was gone. So they thought nothing more of it until last night.

According to the Washington Trails Association, "This is shaping up to be one of the deadliest avalanche seasons ever in our state." Winter has been on for only two weeks too.

It goes without saying that our condolences go out to the family of the 13-year old and everyone who was with her that day (we don't know if they were all related).

At the same time, we want to remind you that winter sports are a ton of fun, but fraught with more danger than is often realized. Please read about precautions you can and should take before you go (you always carry the Ten Essentials, right?), research your route (you should also call the avalanche hotline at 206-526-6677) and take the weather into account and always, always tell people where you are going and when you'll be back. (Did we mention that you should ALWAYS have the Ten Essentials with you?)

Thanks to Todd Bates for the picture, which we found in Seattlest's Flickr Pool. It's a part of a whole collage.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@seattlest.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Charles Redell in News on January 7, 2008 12:26 PM

Comments [rss]

Troy Morris

You could spend your entire life questioning and regretting. I would hate to be put in a position to do so, but you have to believe that things are the way they're supposed to be.... at least that's what I hope.

Saxtor

I was initially quick to claim that it isn't necessarily more dangerous or prevalent out there, rather the media is loving publicizing these stories. But when I saw the number of avy deaths, and the fact that it is the most on record, and the seasons is just getting underway, it definitely gave me pause.

It should also be noted that fatal winter dangers don't only occur in the wilderness, away from ski areas. Tree wells can swallow you right up if you're not careful while skiing/snowboarding inbounds at your favorite ski area.

http://www.treewelldeepsnowsafety.com

Charles Redell

Yeah. They were pretty shaken up last night to say the least. Friend B says she will never go snow showing again and there were a fair amount of tears shed last night.

Worse yet, the wife pointed out that the group was made up of 6 kids (about 10 years old into their teens) and one father-age guy. Apparently two other kids were caught in the avalanche and pulled out right away. They then looked for the girl for an hour or so but decided they had to leave to go get more help. Imagine being that poor man. He had to take all of those kids and leave one behind. Had timing worked differently, my wife et al would have showed up and continued looking with the older kids while he went off. Of course, he had no idea when they would be back down the trail so he went.

What a completely awful decision to for him to have to make.

Troy Morris

Wow. It's one thing to narrowly avoid an avalanche, but it's another to basically leave people buried.

Don't get me wrong, they had no idea and no way of knowing, but still. That'd be hard to get over. My condolences to your wife and her two friends as well as the victims.