North Dakota man dies in avalanche north of Yellowstone park

BOZEMAN (AP) — Officials in southwestern Montana have released the name of a 34-year-old North Dakota man who died when he was swept away by an avalanche while riding a snow bike north of Yellowstone National Park over the weekend.

Nathaniel Wolfe of Bismarck died of asphyxiation on Saturday, Park County Coroner Al Jenkins told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle on Tuesday.

Wolfe and one other person were riding snow bikes along with three other people who were on snowmobiles near Cooke City on Saturday, the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center said.

Wolfe had stopped his bike near a sharp ridge and another member of the party was riding on weak, windblown snow above the ridge, the center said.

That vehicle triggered an avalanche that pushed Wolfe over the ridge and buried him under about a foot (30 centimeters) of snow.

Wolfe deployed his avalanche airbag and his hand was visible above the snow, center officials said. It took the rest of the group about 15 minutes to find and unbury Wolfe. They attempted CPR for about an hour before search and rescue arrived.

Wolfe's was the fourth avalanche-related death in southwestern Montana this season and the 10th in the nation, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.