Skier escapes injury in avalanche

Another skier survived an avalanche recently. According to a report Mike Bussard made for the Flathead Avalanche Center, the incident occurred Feb. 7 up Cascadilla Creek in the Middle Fork of the Flathead River drainage.

Bussard, of Whitefish, was skiing with two other friends on the low point of a ridge between Cascadilla and Crystal Creek.

The group made a couple runs on the east face of the ridge at the head of Crystal Creek without incident. On the third run, however, one of Bussard’s companions triggered a small avalanche.

The slide was about 20 feet wide and four inches deep and ran just a few yards. The skier saw the slide and skied into some small trees to avoid it and ended up in even steeper terrain.

When the skier stopped to look back, the snow beneath him fractured a few feet above him and he was swept down the slope in an avalanche. He was able to stay on his feet for about 80 feet but then tumbled in the snow and was dragged another 100 feet as the snow rolled over him.

The skier came to rest on top of the snow and was uninjured, but the snow ran another 100 feet below him. He lost a ski and a pole in the incident.

The party found the ski about 60 feet below him, but never did find the missing pole. The avalanche varied in depth from a few inches to several feet.

This is the third local incident this winter where a skier or snowboarder has survived an avalanche.