Man dies in slide

One man is dead and another injured after an avalanche in a drainage off Skyland Road near Marias Pass.

According to Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry, the body had been recovered by approximately 3:45 p.m. and the other man sustained only minor injuries.

The men, who are from the Cut Bank area, were riding snow bikes when the avalanche was triggered.

Search and rescue efforts included the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, the Glacier County Sheriff’s Office, Glacier County Search and Rescue and North Valley Search and Rescue.

The death marks the third avalanche fatality in Northwest Montana this month and the seventh in the state this winter.

On Monday, a Washington snowmobiler died in an avalanche near Hungry Horse Reservoir; on Feb. 1, a backcountry skier died in an avalanche in Jewel Basin.

The most recent advisory by the Glacier Country Avalanche Center listed the avalanche danger as "considerable" in mountain areas between 5,000 and 7,500 feet and "moderate" below 5,000 feet.

Natural avalanches are considered to be possible and human-triggered avalanches likely, according to the advisory issued Friday.