avalanche

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Wyoming climber killed in Grand Teton avalanche

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A helicopter heads toward Garnet Canyon in this file photo from April 2011 taken during a search for two lost skiers in Grand Teton National Park. Two snowboarders were rescued Feb. 13 after mistakenly riding into Granite Canyon. (National Park Service photo by Jackie Skaggs — click to enlarge)

A Wyoming man was killed in an avalanche Sunday while climbing in Grand Teton National Park. Three other climbers were rescued by helicopter, including one who sustained life-threatening injuries. Luke Lynch, 38, of Jackson, Wyo. died when he was struck by an avalanche in the steep Sickle Couloir on the northeast face of Mount Moran. The snowslide swept Lynch and two others downslope for approximately 500 feet over rock and ice covered terrain. Also injured was Stephen P. Adamson, Jr., 42, and Brook Yeomans, 37. A fourth climber, Zahan Billimoria, 37, escaped injury. All of the climbers are from Jackson. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Grand Teton, avalanche, climbing, fatality, mount moran, safety

Cody Ice Fest continues despite avalanche concerns, wild weather

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A climber looks for the best route up a rock face in Shoshone Canyon on Saturday during the 16th Annual Cody Ice Climbing Festival in Cody, Wyo.

Climbing frozen waterfalls requires not just physical prowess, but also endurance, versatility and creativity. It was exactly those traits that climbers exhibited during this weekend's Cody Ice Climbing Festival, which persevered despite extreme avalanche dangers and every imaginable kind of weather. Recent heavy snows across northwestern Wyoming have made ice climbing more difficult and risky, prompting festival organizers to move planned climbing clinics to alternate locations, and causing even some experienced climbers to abandon planned backcountry trips. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Gateway Towns, avalanche, ice climbing, recreation, south fork ice, south fork valley

Bringing Out the Big Gun: Yellowstone stations howitzer atop Sylvan Pass

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Yellowstone National Park maintenance worker Eric Holdren works last month to prepare a howitzer for use this winter in avalanche mitigation along Sylvan Pass. (Ruffin Prevost/Yellowstone Gate)

Shortly after the partial federal government shutdown ended last month, two Lake District maintenance workers performed an annual fall duty that most visitors to Yellowstone National Park never get to see, and is part of one of the park's most controversial management practices. Snow had already begun to pile up on Sylvan Pass by mid-October, requiring workers to clear a road to the platform where a 105-mm howitzer cannon is used each winter to blast snow from Hoyt Peak and Avalanche Peak on the north side of the pass. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Yellowstone, avalanche, howitzer, sylvan pass, winter use

Wyoming skier killed in Grand Teton avalanche

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All of the country's national parks, including Grand Teton and Yellowstone, will offer free admission Monday and at other times throughout the year. (NPS photo)

A backcountry skier died Friday in Grand Teton National Park during an avalanche in the Teton Range. Jarad Spackman, 40, of Jackson, Wyo., was killed while ascending Apocalypse Couloir near the mouth of Death Canyon. Spackman and a companion were ascending Apocalypse Couloir at about 10:30 a.m. on Friday, according to a statement released by the Grand Teton public affairs office. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Grand Teton, avalanche, fatality, grand teton national park, safety

2 die in Yellowstone-Teton area avalanches as region sees new snowfall

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Two people were killed in separate avalanches over the weekend, according to information released by the Bridger-Teton National Forecast Avalanche Center. Two backcountry skiers in separate areas were killed Sunday after being caught in small avalanches, the center reported Monday. The center issued an advisory bulletin for areas of Teton, Lincoln and Sublette Counties in Wyoming and for the Teton Area, Continental Divide/Togwotee Pass Area and the Southwest Trails Greys River Area. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Gateway Towns, avalanche, fatality, safety, sylvan pass

Two skiers die in backcountry avalanche in Grand Teton National Park

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Rescuers recovered the bodies Thursday of two skiers who died in a backcountry avalanche in the mountains of Grand Teton National Park. Steve Romeo and Chris Onufer, both of Jackson, Wyo. had failed to return as expected Wednesday evening from their trip to Ranger Peak, in the northern Teton Range, according to Jackie Skaggs, spokeswoman for Grand Teton National Park. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Grand Teton, avalanche, fatality, grand teton, Onufer, Romeo, ski

2 skiers die in backcountry avalanche in Grand Teton National Park

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Rescuers recovered the bodies Thursday of two skiers who died in a backcountry avalanche in the mountains of Grand Teton National Park. Steve Romeo and Chris Onufer, both of Jackson, Wyo. had failed to return as expected Wednesday evening from their trip to Ranger Peak, in the northern Teton Range, according to Jackie Skaggs, spokeswoman for Grand Teton National Park. Continue Reading →

Filed under: avalanche, fatality, grand teton, Onufer, Romeo, search and rescue, skiers