A weekend of high avalanche danger in the Cascades led to the deaths of two snowshoers and a snowmobiler.
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On Sunday afternoon, an avalanche near Stampede Pass swept up five snowmobilers as they stopped for lunch.
All were dug out, but Joseph Simenstad, 32, could not be revived.
Monday near Alpental, searchers found the bodies of two young men, ages 17 and 18.
The two friends, out snowshoeing, were also buried in an avalanche.
"We had a pretty large avalanche cycle over the weekend, we had issued a warning for Sunday," said Scott Schell of the Northwest Avalanche Center.
Schell said all the recent new snow fell on top of an unstable layer in the snowpack.
"We created a pretty large slab above a weak layer in a really short period of time which spiked the avalanche danger," Schell said.
Professionals use explosives to deliberately bring down unstable snow along highways and in ski areas.
Anywhere else in the mountains is basically backcountry, and today Schell said people heading there should always check the avalanche forecast, be trained in avalanches, and carry essential rescue gear.
Schell said everyone should carry an avalanche transceiver, that can send and receive signals.
He also said an avalanche probe should be carried to stick in the snow to find someone, and a shovel to dig them out.
A supplementary tool is an air bag pack, which helps keep your head above the snow if you're caught in an avalanche.
"I fully believe my backpack saved my life," Elyse Saugstad said after she survived the 2012 Tunnel Creek avalanche near Stevens Pass that killed three fellow skiers.
It's one of many avalanches in the Cascades over the years.
In 1910, 96 people were killed when an avalanche slammed into two trains near Stevens Pass, the deadliest avalanche.
Cox Media Group
