Glacier National Park Rangers responded to the report of the trapped bikers around 6:30 pm.
The bikers, a husband and a wife along with a friend, were traveling up the road when they came by an avalanche across the road, and after turning around to head back down, they soon encountered a second avalanche in progress.
According to Glacier National Parkâs news release, the wife was ahead of her husband and friend when she heard the avalanche and warned them to stop. The avalanche came down between them and trapped the womanâs husband and friend on the uphill side.
Avalanche on Going-to-the-Sun Road traps bikers
MTN News
and last updated 2021-05-14 20:05:39-04
GREAT FALLS â On Thursday, May 13, at about 6:30 pm, Glacier National Park rangers responded to a report of three bikers who were trapped behind an avalanche near Triple Arches on Going-to-the-Sun Road, according to a news release from park officials.
Three bikers - a husband and wife along with a friend - traveling up the road encountered an avalanche across the road, turned around, and started back down. Soon after, they encountered a second avalanche in progress. The wife was ahead of her husband and friend and heard the avalanche. She warned her husband and friend to stop. The avalanche came down between them, trapping the womanâs husband and friend on the uphill side.
Originally published on March 8, 2021 10:00 am
Dangerous conditions in the backcountry this winter highlight a potential cause that scientists continue to study: the connection between avalanches and the climate crisis.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center counts at least 33 avalanche deaths across the country so far this season. That number eclipses the 23 fatalities for the entire winter the year before – and several years prior.
The link between the climate crisis and avalanches is unclear. Still, snow scientists like Jordy Hendrikx, director of Montana State University’s Snow and Avalanche Lab, say weather events this winter are consistent with climate change models.
Hendrikx explains it this way: Avalanches reflect the weather and when the climate changes, weather becomes more extreme. That includes periods of drought followed by precipitation, a pattern that has repeatedly emerged this winter.