 |
12/29/2002
A Seattle-area skier was killed and three others were buried during an avalanche Sunday afternoon near Crystal Mountain Ski Area in northeast Pierce County, Wash.
Donald J. Dovey's was 37 and an experienced backcountry skiier. His parents are from Keizer, Oregon.
The snow slide buried four members of a group of seven who were cross-country skiing on one face of the East Peak in the Norse Peak Wilderness area, said Pierce County sheriff's deputy Dan Hudson.
The group, part of the Mountaineers, a Seattle-based outdoor recreation club, was swept into Cement Basin when the avalanche occurred around 1 p.m, Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said Sunday evening.
Crystal Mountain. (KING Photo) |
"The witness I talked to described this party as triggering the slide amongst them and several members of the party being carried down by the slide," said John Kircher, general manager at Crystal Mountain.
The slide was likely triggered by the weight of one of the skiers, Paul Baugher, director of the Crystal Mountain Ski Patrol and Northwest Avalanche Institute, told The Seattle Times.
The avalanche was estimated at 120 feet wide, 400 feet long and 2 to 5 feet deep. Snowslides can reach speeds of 80 mph.
Three of the four skiers managed to dig themselves out, Hudson said. One of those skiers, using an electronic locating device, found the fourth skier buried at least five feet beneath the surface.
"He then used a collapsible pole," Hudson said. "He struck his partner's ski about five feet down."
After 15 minutes of digging, the other skiers uncovered the man, but were unable to revive him, despite administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation for 20 minutes, Hudson said.
One of the skiers, a doctor, pronounced the man dead, Hudson said. Two skiers in a separate group near the slide witnessed the accident and then came down to help.
It took the skiers until about 3 p.m. to reach an area where they could summon help, Troyer said.
Rescue crews used snowmobiles and an Army helicopter to retrieve the group.
One Seattle man suffered a possible broken leg and was taken to a Seattle hospital, Hudson said.
Although more than 20 inches of snow has fallen near Norse Peak in the past three days, officials said skiing conditions were safe.
"There were no avalanche warnings up," Troyer said.
The names of the dead man and his injured companion were not immediately available.