Idaho Avalanche Kills Snowmobiler, Makes 7th One This Season

Another avalanche has killed an innocent mountain-goer on Friday which makes the 21st disaster in the 2020-2021 season thus far.

The snowmobiler triggered the large avalanche while he was riding through the Sawtooth National Forest in Idaho near the Galena Summit.

"The avalanche broke 3-4' (feet) deep and over 500' (feet) wide on a south-facing slope at 9100' (feet)," the avalanche center said.

While he took all the measures to get out of the fall, like deploying his airbag, he succumbed to his injuries before anyone was able to revive him. He was the only one who was affected by the avalanche.

He’s the seventh snowmobiler who’s died from this type of accident within the last calendar year, and the 29th person in general, but he was one of them that wasn’t buried when getting caught up in the falling snow.

There have been three avalanches in Wyoming, eight in Colorado, three in Utah, one in New Hampshire, one in Arkansas, one in California, two in Montana, one in Washington and one in Idaho since Dec. 18.

More accidents could be caused by more people on the mountain and enjoying the outdoor activities this season, according to Nikki Champion, a forecaster at the Utah Avalanche Center. A “persistent weak layer” of snow could attribute to the cause as well.