Avalanche Kills Skier Near White Pass, Washington (UPDATED)

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Mountain Journey
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Adam Roberts Killed In Avalanche While Skiing In Backcountry Near White Pass Ski Resort

White Pass, Washington – At around 6pm on Tuesday, December 27, 2016 Adam Roberts of Randle, Washington was caught, buried, and killed in an avalanche while skiing the Grand Couloir in the backcountry near White Pass Ski Area  in the Cascade Mountain Range southeast of Mt. Rainier in Washington.

Avalanche Debris - Pixabay
Avalanche Debris | Stock Image

Roberts was with a friend when he was caught in an avalanche about 1.5 miles west of the summit on a descent down to US Highway 12 (YakimaHerald.com). They had already skied a similar run earlier in the day. His friend skied first with out any problems, but Roberts took a different line and triggered the slide. The friend called for help. The rescue was conducted by members of the White Pass Ski Patrol. Roberts was found buried in 5 to 6 feet of snow at approximately 6000′ of elevation.

The Northwest Avalanche Center (NWAC) rated the avalanched danger as “high” on 1/27 after a large snowstorm on Monday. A video from King5.com reports 11 inches of snow over night and 8 inches during the day. The video states that it took 2 hours to find Roberts. According to SnowBrains.com, “It appears that neither Adam nor his partner were equip with avalanche gear.” At this point, we could not confirm this fact with any other sources. YakimaHerald.com notes that “The White Pass Ski Patrol dug the man’s body from the snow after Yakima County sheriff deputies used a signal from his cell phone to identify a search area, said Sgt. Mike Russell.”

According to King5.com, White Pass General Manager Kevin McCarthy says that Roberts “spent more time in the backcountry of White Pass than anyone else” (King5.com).

We will try to update this post as more information becomes available.

UPDATE 12/29: The CAIC Avalanche Accident Report notes that the avalanche was triggered by the skier in a backcountry run called the Grand Couloir. NWAC reported the slab as “8-10 inches deep and 600 feet wide slab.” Roberts was dragged into a terrain trap.

UPDATE 1/10: The avalanche is reported as a soft slab avalanche that was R2, D2 at an elevation of 4420 feet on a slope of 45 to 50 degrees at a 303 degree aspect. The accident occurred in the Grand Couloir. Read the full avalanche report here. According to that official report, Roberts had an avalanche transceiver.

Here’s a video of Adam Roberts from a few year’s back:

Gypsy Wagon from WWU-Digital Media in Journalism on Vimeo.

This is the 3rd avalanche fatality in the United States this winter. The first two included:

Read more about the avalanche near White Pass Ski Area in Washington from the following sources: