Stevens Pass, WA – It was a deadly weekend in Washington, where four backcountry travelers were killed in two separate nearby avalanches, including two well known ski industry professionals.
The dead in a noon-time slide that struck a party of 13 experienced backcounty skiers near Stevens Pass ski area, 70 miles east of Seattle, include Jim Jack, 46, the head judge of the Freeskiing World Tour, Stevens Pass marketing director Chris Rudolph, 30, and local skier local skier John Brenan. Survivors include pro freeskier Elyse Saugstad, of Girdwood, Alaska, Johnny Stifter from Powder Magazine, Salomon North America rep Joel Hammond and ESPN freeskiing editor Megan Michelson. All who were killed are from Leavenworth, Wash.
The group accessed the Tunnel Creek drainage from a backcountry gate near the top of the Seventh Heaven chairlift at Stevens Pass ski area. The slide reportedly broke about 300 feet above some members of the group while they waited in a treed area above the drainage as others skied. The crown was estimated to be three feet deep. Storm totals in the 48 hours leading up to the event reached 26 inches, and the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center rated the danger level in the area on Sunday as “high.” Saugstad, who was swept 2,000 to 3,000 feet down the drainage by the avalanche, credits an airbag backpack with her survival.
Rudolph worked at Stevens Pass since 2004, and was responsible for two National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) marketing awards presented to the resort as well as gaining exposure for the resort through high profile ski films. Jack, who began as a big mountain skiing competitor before shifting his focus to judging, will be mourned in a service to be held this afternoon at Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort in Utah.
Separately, a 41-year-old snowboarder was killed on Sunday in the backcountry near Alpental ski area. Karl Milanoski, of Seattle, Wash., was riding out of bounds in the ski area’s sidecountry when he was struck by an avalanche and swept off a 500-foot cliff. The victim, who was only partially buried by the avalanche, was pronounced dead at the scene.