The 33-year-old man who was killed in a Jan. 23 avalanche near Olney has been identified as Geoffrey Richard Caldbeck of Kila.
Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry said the slide occurred near Swede Creek in the Whitefish Mountain Range after three snowmobilers in the area seemed to trigger it. Two of the riders were buried, and one was able to self-extricate. The two survivors were able to locate Caldbeck through an avalanche transceiver, but he was deceased by the time they were able to dig him out.
After unsuccessful resuscitation efforts, the survivors rode out for help. Caldbeck’s body was not recovered until Jan. 24 due to weather hampering search crews.
Curry said avalanche experts were flown to the site on Sunday afternoon, and the sheriff’s office, along with the Forest Service, are still investigating the incident.
The avalanche was measured to be approximately 200 feet wide and the crown depth ranged from 2.5 feet to nearly 5 feet deep at its deepest part, according to the Flathead Avalanche Center. The avalanche ran approximately 200 vertical feet and the debris accumulated in a gully at the bottom of the slope. The avalanche debris was around five-feet deep. The average slope angle was approximately 35 degrees. The aspect was southeast and was a cross-loaded slope. The avalanche slid on a layer of weak, faceted snow beneath the Jan. 12t rain crust.
The local avalanche center is warning of “considerable avalanche danger” and is recommending that outdoor recreationists avoid steep terrain in the backcountry.