BOZEMAN — A 36-year-old skier from Bozeman who was killed in an avalanche in southwestern Montana has been identified.
The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports Peter Lazar was caught in the slide on the west side of the Bridger Range on Tuesday afternoon. Two other skiers saw the avalanche start and were able to quickly find Lazar and start CPR before first responders arrived.
Eric Knoff, an avalanche specialist with the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center, says Lazar was well-known in the area and was “an incredibly passionate skier.”
Lazar was skiing at the top of Truman Gulch on St. Lawrence run when he triggered the slide on a heavily wind-loaded slope. He was swept more than 1,000 vertical feet (305 meters) downhill and buried in snow.