One Skier Partially Buried And Injured In Avalanche In St. Regis Basin South Of Lookout Pass Ski Area
At about 3 PM on January, 13, 2016, three skiers were caught in an avalanche in the St. Regis Basin in an area called Death Row Chutes. It’s about 4 to 5 miles south of Lookout Pass Ski Area near the Montana-Idaho border. One skier was partially buried and sustained a compound fracture of his leg. It is thought that one of the skiers in the group triggered the avalanche.
The injured skier was rescued from the avalanche by the other two skiers. They then called for help. According to SnowBrains.com, Two Bear Air and Mineral Country Search and Rescue response teams rescued two of the skiers by helicopter and returned without the helicopter for the third skier later that evening.
The injured skier was taken to Shosone County Medical Center in Kellogg, Idaho for treatment.
According to KREM.com, the skiers began the day at Lookout Pass before venturing into the backcountry. Lookout Pass reported 11″ of new snow with high winds on the January 13. There will be a further report on this avalanche incident provided by the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center when conditions are deemed safe.
After the incident, the director of the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center issued an avalanche warning that impacts “the Selkirk and Cabinet Mountains of Bonner and Boundary counties, the St. Joe Mountains of Shoshone County and Kootenai Counties. The mountains of Eastern Washington and Western Mountain are also part of the warning. The unstable snow is being blamed on high winds combined with heavy snow.” (KREM.com).
We will update this post as more information becomes available.
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