Wyoming Range, Wyoming – On Saturday, December 22, 2018 a 31-year-old snowmobiler was killed in an avalanche in the Horse Creek drainage in the Wyoming Range west of Pinedale, Wyoming.
Authorities were alerted of the slide around 10am. Tip Top Search and Rescue responded to the scene. The victim was buried for about an hour.
JHNewsAndGuide.com reports that the avalanche was 100′ wide, 22 inches deep, and about 100′ long. The slide occurred on a 37 degree convex slope near the Blind Bull Summit warming shelter near the Horse Creek Trail.
JHAvalanche.org reports that the avalanche occurred on 12/22/2018 at 10:00. The hard slab avalanche was a R1, D1.5 with a depth of 22 inches. The snowmobiler “was riding uphill in a steep terrain trap and triggered a small slab avalanche (app. 100 x 100 feet).” They note the avalanche occurred at a Lat/Long of 42.935513, -110.586372.
The victim was identified as 31-year-old Dustin LaPant (JHNewsAndGuide.com).
This is the 1st avalanche fatality in the US for the winter season.
We will try to update this post when more information is available.
UPDATE 1/6: The Bridger Teton Avalanche Center posted this video about the accident:
See Also: Global Avalanche Accidents 2018/2019
