A snowmobiler perished in an apparent slide on Wednesday evening near the Montana border in northeastern Idaho reports East Idaho News. Search and rescue personnel are waiting for avalanche conditions to stabilize before attempting to recover the body.
"A lot of sad people today" after young father is killed in avalanche https://t.co/ekpswWvf4J
— East Idaho News (@EastIDNews) January 11, 2018
The victim is 36 year-old Adam Wayne Andersen of Idaho Falls, ID. Anderson was riding in the Mt Jefferson area and was accompanied by other snowmobilers at the time of the slide. While the snowmobilers he was with were able to find the victim’s snowmobile, they were unable to locate him personally.
“Unfortunately this has turned into a recovery mission. Members of his party found his snowmobile but we’ve been unsuccessful at locating him.” – Len Humphries, Fremont County Sheriff (*Quote courtesy of East Idaho News)
At this point, authorities have indicated this is a recovery effort, not a rescue mission. A YouCaring website has been setup to raise funds to cover funeral expenses. Andersen leaves behind a wife and three children.
Donate here: Adam Andersen Funeral Fund
*Our deepest condolences go out to the victim’s friends and family.
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Avalanche Fatality [Mtavalanche.org]
A snowmobiler from Idaho Falls is missing and presumed dead near Reas Peak on the Caribou-Targhee National Forest in the Centennial Range. His snowmobile was found partially buried in avalanche debris but he is unaccounted for. The rescue will continue today. Read a short clip from the East Idaho News here. We will update this post as more information becomes available.
Although the Centennial Range is out of our forecast area, it has a similar snowpack structure to the Lionhead area and mountains around West Yellowstone. The southern mountains have received a heavy amount of snow over the past 36 hours and the snowpack remains under a tremendous amount of stress. Facets buried 2-4’ deep are the primary concern and slides failing on this layer will be large and dangerous (video, photo, photo). It will be possible to trigger entire slopes from the bottom or from a distance and travel in avalanche terrain is not recommend.
As more snow and wind impact the area today, very dangerous avalanched conditions exist. Natural and human triggered avalanches will be likely on wind loaded slopes which have a HIGH avalanche danger. Human triggered avalanches are likely on non-wind loaded slopes which have a CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger.
Find the entire East Idaho News article here: ‘A lot of sad people today’ after young father is killed in avalanche
