2 avalanche fatalities reported in northwest Wyoming this week county10.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from county10.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Credit Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center
In the first week of February, avalanches in the United States killed at least 14 people. That s the highest number of deaths in a seven-day period for at least a century.
Experts say it s partly because more people are out in the backcountry. I think starting in March, with the closure of so many ski resorts, many people turned to ski touring in the backcountry in order to recreate outside in perhaps a safer way in the pandemic standpoint, said avalanche educator Jenna Malone. Malone works for the American Avalanche Institute.
Most of the deaths are a result of a persistent slab avalanche problem. That means there is weak snow in the snowpack, andthe normal signs and stability tests that people are trained to do to avoid avalanches aren t there, Malone said.