Early mountain snow leads to 'considerable' avalanche danger

SNOQUALMIE, Wash. — King County Search and Rescue is warning anyone heading to the mountains this holiday.

Because of all the snow that's fallen, there's a danger of avalanches much earlier in the season than usual, according to Alan LaBissoniere of KCSAR.

“It’s dangerous to be up there above the tree line,” he told KIRO 7 on Wednesday.

Avalanches have claimed 68 lives in Washington State since 1987.

One of the most devastating happened in the back-country of Stevens Pass in February of 2012.

Three expert skiers – Jim Jack, Chris Rudolph and John Brenan - died.

John Stifter, an editor for Powder Magazine, was skiing with the group and told KIRO 7 of the avalanche danger that day, “I had full confidence in them.

There’s no reason we would have gone up there if it was unsafe.”

According to LaBissoniere, even the most prepared skiers and hikers can be caught in a deadly slide.
Last winter, he helped recover the body of a man on the Granite Mountain Lookout near I-90; a place where he says slides, and deaths, are common.

“The last one I can think of up here, the guy was very, very prepared.

He knew what he was doing.

It’s just unfortunate what happened.”

LaBissoniere advised that anyone hiking or skiing in the back-country should never go alone, should leave information about location and return time with someone down the mountain so they can call 911, and should have survival gear and wear a transmitter.

He also suggested hikers and back-country skiers check conditions before heading out.

LaBissoniere said he and his colleagues at King County Search and Rescue use The Northwest Avalanche Center's mobile phone app that pinpoints location and clearly color codes avalanche danger.
Green means low risk; black is extreme danger.

On Tuesday, the avalanche risk at Snoqualmie Pass was red –“high.”

By Wednesday, it was down to orange; lower risk, but still “considerable.”

“If you’re in a ‘considerable,’ or red or black, don’t go,” LaBissoniere said. “It’s not worth the risk.”

Cox Media Group