The Park County Sheriff’s office has identified the snomobiler killed in an avalanche north of Cooke City Saturday. He was 33-year-old Jason Wald of Bismarck, North Dakota.
Wald was one of a party of five snomobilers on a steep slope at about 1:00 Saturday afternoon. According to a video made by Doug Chabot with the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center, the riders were aware they were in a bad spot.
"They knew the danger was high, they felt like they needed to go elsewhere, it just didn’t happen soon enough."
Chabot says Wald triggered the slide as he rode past a 22-year-old man and his father who were talking about turning around. The 22-year-old was completely buried in the slide, but was dug out quickly and survived, as did his father, who was partially buried. Wald, who did not survive, was buried about six feet deep.
Chabot says the avalanche danger around Cooke City remains high.
"We have about a foot to a foot-and-a-half of really weak, sugary snow on the ground, and that snow is really unstable."
Avalanche danger is also rated high across the entire Bridger, Madison and Lionhead ranges. Forecasters are calling the danger “considerable” in the Whitefish, Flathead-Glacier and Swan areas. In west central Montana avalanche danger is rated moderate.
Doug Chabot of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center investigates the scene of the avalanche on the SE face of Sheep Mountain that caught three and killed one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp6MqrJVSPg
