By Jim Stanford on February 19, 2007
The snowmobiler killed in an avalanche Saturday in the Snake River Range was Nicholas Gus Steinmann, 26, of Ogden, Utah, the AP reports via the Twin Falls (Idaho) Times-News.
In all, six people were killed by avalanches in the Rockies this weekend. Two snowmobilers died in a slide Saturday in Montana, two others were killed in separate incidents in Utah, and a young skier died after leaving the resort boundary at Snowbasin, Utah, bringing to 13 the total number of avalanche fatalities in America this winter. All but three were snowmobilers.
Steinmann was one of four snowmobilers in the vicinity of Palisades Peak, on the Idaho side of the range, when the slide occurred, according to the Bonneville County, Idaho, sheriff’s department. Two others were caught in the slide but not buried.
The Bridger-Teton National Forest Avalanche Center said the avalanche occurred on a northeast aspect, and Steinmann was buried under deep debris.
Teton County Search and Rescue was training on snowmobiles in the Grayback Ridge area of the Snake River Canyon on Saturday. The team was called out to assist but did not respond because of the time and distance involved, a team member said.
Posted under avalanches, skiing, snowmobiles, weather
