Teton County Search and Rescue Recovers Body Of Solo Snowboarder After Avalanche On The Pyramid
Jackson Hole, Wyoming – On Tuesday, January 19, 2016 a solo snowboarder was killed in an avalanche on The Pyramid in Jensen Canyon southeast of Rendezvous Peak in the Tetons of Jackson, Wyoming. Teton County Coroner Brent Blue identified the victim as Jed Wesley Foster, 30, a Jackson resident.
Authorities were notified about the avalanche by a witness just before 1 PM. Teton County Search and Rescue responded to the scene by helicopter after diverting from a training exercise in Rock Springs Canyon near Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.
Search and rescue spotted a single track heading into the avalanche path. They performed a beacon check from the air with no results. They then spotted a snowboard near the toe of the avalanche and found the victim who was still wearing his snowboard. Rescuers noted that the victim was “carried “some distance” over “rocky terrain”.” Foster was pronounced dead on the scene.
The Bridger Teton Avalanche Center reported that the avalanche was on an east facing slope. The starting zone was between 36 and 40 degrees at an elevation of 8808′. It was a R3, D2.5 avalanche and ran 36″ deep. The avalanche danger at the time of the avalanche accident was “considerable.”
Avalanche.org records show this as the 7th confirmed avalanche fatality in the US during the 2015/16 season. This avalanche fatality occurred on the same day as the Yellowstone Club ski patroller who died in Cedar Basin in Montana’s Madison Range.
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Read more about the avalanche fatality on The Pyramid in the Tetons from these sources:
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