Methow Valley, Washington – On March 4, 2018 a backcountry skier was killed in an avalanche on a sub peak of Setting Sun Mountain north of the Methow Valley near Mazama, Washington.
The accident occurred while 4 backcountry ski tourers were skiing in the area. The group had snowmobiled into the Black Pine Basin near Setting Sun Mountain. After the avalanche occurred, the other members of the party located the victim, but were unable to transport him off of the mountain. The body was recovered on Monday with a helicopter.
Avalanche.org reports that the hard slab avalanche released on 1.5 mm rounding facets. The slide was a D2.5 on a WNW at this 6900′. NWAC.us reports that the slide was 800′ long, 28″ deep, and 230′ wide. It failed on facets and stepped down to deeper layers. They categorized the avalanche as HS-AR-R4-D2.5-O/G.
KPQ.com identified the victim as 36-year-old Ian Fair of Winthrop, WA.
We will try to update this post when more information is available.
See Also: Global Avalanche Accidents 2017/2018
Read more about the avalanche on Setting Sun Mountain in Washington from the following sources:
Information in this post was found using Google Translate. There may be errors in this information. Please use the sources listed above to verify all facts.
