A southwestern Montana man is dead following a backcountry avalanche over the weekend.
Ron Russell, 46, was backcountry skiing Saturday morning outside Anaconda when he was overtaken by an avalanche. Reports are that Russell, who was skiing alone at the time of the slide, was able to dig himself out and call for help, but later died of his injuries.
Russell was a longtime math teacher at Anaconda High School.
According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, he was the sixth person to die in an avalanche in Montana this winter and the 27th in the United States.
