Western storms may deliver deadliest winter

updated 7:16 p.m. ET Jan. 10, 2008

DENVER - Powerful storms in the West have delivered the best snow conditions in years but also have claimed lives from Colorado to Alaska, threatening to make this winter outdoor sports season the region's deadliest in recent memory.

Avalanches have killed at least 15 people across the West since Nov. 12. In Washington alone, they have claimed nine lives this season, the most in that state since a single slide killed 11 climbers on Mount Rainier in 1981.

"I'm not sure if they are taking more risks or if it is a lack of knowledge," said Maj. Rick Albers of the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office in Colorado, referring to winter sports enthusiasts.

The national annual average for avalanche deaths is about 25. Thirty-five people were killed nationwide in avalanches in the 2001-2002 season, the most on record, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Avalanches are the biggest killer, but they are not the only one. Blizzards, reckless skiing and snowboarding, and suddenly changing weather have also taken their toll.

On Sunday, a skier was killed at Colorado's Purgatory resort after skiing off a cliff in a blizzard. In Oregon, a snowboarder at Mount Hood Meadows suffocated Dec. 27 in quicksand-like snow around the base of a tree.

On Monday, six snowmobilers from New Mexico were rescued after being trapped for three days in a blizzard in the remote southern Colorado wilderness. But a search continued for two New Mexico snowboarders missing since Saturday at the nearby Wolf Creek Ski Area.

Albers said his rescue crew was searching for lost hikers in a whiteout last weekend when another call came in for two skiers swept up in an avalanche.

Everyone survived, he said.

"We know the avalanche danger is going to be extreme," Albers said. "All we can do is be ready ourselves."

'Balance between enthusiasm and caution'
The season has seen near-record snowfall after a relatively dry November.

California's Sierra Nevada received 11 feet of snow in the recent storm. In Washington, Snoqualmie Pass — the main route through the Cascade Mountain Range — saw its fifth largest December totals, with more than 14 feet of snow. In Colorado, the resort towns of Aspen and Steamboat set records for December, each receiving more than 9 feet.

"Everyone wants a powder day," said Nick Bohnenkamp, spokesman for Colorado Ski Country USA, a tourism promoter. "The way it has been snowing, it has been a powder day almost every day."

But the danger created by blankets of fresh snow can be as spectacular as its promise of adventure.

"It is that balance between enthusiasm and caution that is so important," said Doug Abromeit, director of the U.S. Forest Service National Avalanche Center in Ketchum, Idaho.

"When you have these huge systems that come, that is typically when we get the most fatalities," he said.

MORE FROM WEATHER

Weather Section Front

Watch 3-day national forecast Weather shift claims 10 climbers' lives Hurricane preparations factor in recession 'Ike Dike' proposed along Texas coast   Extreme heat takes toll on Texas Wyoming tornado destroys homes, barns Weather Section Front   Add Weather headlines to your news reader: