Avalanche partially buries skier in popular backcountry area near Whitefish Mountain Resort
An avalanche debris field after an accident in which a skier was caught, carried and partially buried in backcountry terrain near Whitefish Mountain Resort on Dec. 29, 2024. (Flathead Avalanche Center photo)
A skier narrowly escaped injury after triggering an avalanche in a popular backcountry area near Whitefish Mountain Resort over the weekend.
The close call in Canyon Creek was among a rash of human-triggered slides near the resort amid heightened avalanche danger due to recent heavy snowfall.
According to an incident report compiled by Flathead Avalanche Center on Monday, a skier and splitboarder were in an out-of-bounds area known as Oz on Dec. 29. The skier descended a portion of the upper terrain and ducked behind a tree to wait for his partner to come down.
The slope fractured above him before the partner dropped in, causing a wall of snow hit the skier and pin him against a tree. Both his skis were knocked off and he dogpaddled to stay above the moving snow. He was buried waist deep when the slide stopped but was not injured.
"Getting pinned against a tree almost immediately likely kept [the skier] from suffering serious trauma," the incident report noted.
Meanwhile, a skier with a separate group began descending the same slope in the Oz area, not knowing an avalanche had just occurred. The skier triggered another small slide, but was able to escape its path.
The first party hiked back up the mountain and traveled back into the resort boundary, with each using one half of the splitboard. They made it back to the resort just in time to catch the last chair of the day.
The avalanche center noted that the duo was well prepared with food and extra clothing, and was familiar with the terrain.
The second group was able to ski back to the resort as well, but not before the lifts stopped running, requiring them to skin out of Canyon Creek via the Ridge Run slope.
That same day a skier triggered an avalanche in Canyon Creek, out of bounds and below the Flower Point lift at Whitefish Mountain Resort. No one was caught in the slide.
On Dec. 28, a skier set off a slide in the Ghoullies area just outside of the resort boundary, while another skier caused a slide dropping into one of the Skook chutes above Canyon Creek. There were no injuries in either of the close calls.
All told, there were six reported avalanches in the backcountry around Whitefish Mountain Resort over the weekend.
Avalanche danger in the Whitefish Range was rated as moderate on Tuesday, Dec. 31. Up to 3 feet of new snow was stressing weak layers in the snowpack. Whitefish Mountain Resort reported more than 23 inches of new snow over the last week.
Backcountry users were warned to stick to lower slope angles and avoid traveling in the runout zones of large avalanche paths.