Jackson Peak, Wyoming 12 January 1976
2 ski tourers caught, buried, and killed

From: The Snowy Torrents

WEATHER FACTORS
An unusually heavy storm descended upon the Jackson Hole area of northwest Wyoming on January 3. By the morning of January 10, which provided a temporary lull in the storm, 61 inches of snow containing 3.94 inches water equivalent had fallen at Jackson Hole Ski Area on the west side of "Jackson Hole," a broad valley ringed by mountains. West winds were strong throughout the storm, which resumed with new vigor on the 11th. On the morning of the 12th, 14 inches of new snow with an inch of water had fallen. The storm continued all day the 12th. Avalanche hazard was high at the ski area and in all the surrounding mountains. The Forest Service issued avalanche warnings that were broadcast several times daily on the AM and FM radio stations in Jackson, beginning January 10 and continuing through the 14th.

ACCIDENT SUMMARY
On January 11, Phillip Gartland, 26, and Jim Reierson, 19, began a 2-day ski tour in the Gros Ventre Mountains east of Jackson. Their goal was to reach the ski cabin at Goodwin Lake. On their trip in they met Ted Belden, a long-time Jackson resident who was on a snowmobile. Belden was the last person to see the two men alive.

Gartland and Reierson spent the night at the cabin. They packed up the next morning and headed south toward Cache Creek, the opposite direction from which they had skied in. Apparently, they were going to make a loop trip and exit via Cache Creek, but the weather was poor with falling and blowing snow, and they were heading into avalanche terrain. About 1-1/2 miles south of the cabin, the two skiers were traversing the lower portion of a steep, open slope on the east side of Jackson Peak when an avalanche released far above them. Apparently traveling close together, both men were caught and buried beneath 4 feet of snow.

RESCUE
On the evening of January 13, Ed Garland came to the Teton County Sheriff's Office to report that his brother and a friend were overdue on a ski tour. The following morning, a helicopter with Deputy Sheriff Roger Millward flew to the ski cabin. The searchers found signs of recent use of the cabin, and the ensuing air search revealed remnants of a ski track between the cabin and Jackson Peak, but there was no sign of the missing skiers.

Poor weather hampered the search effort. Short helicopter flights were made on January 16 and 18, but no further clues were found. On the morning of the 19th, a low-level helicopter search revealed a pair of ski tips jutting from the snow in the avalanche path on the east side of Jackson Peak. The helicopter returned to Jackson to report the find, and the sheriff organized a formal search party.

The Grand Teton National Park Rescue Team was driven to the site by snowcat, while the sheriff's rescue team flew in by helicopter. Members of the Park Rescue Team threw hand charges into the avalanche starting zone and released nothing. Rescuers then converged on the burial site.

At 1715 Phil Gartland's body was uncovered face down beneath 4 feet of snow. He was wearing snowshoes, and it was the tips of the skis strapped to his pack that had been sticking out of the snow. Next to his body, also 4 feet deep was the body of Jim Reierson. He had been skiing; one ski was still attached. Both bodies were flown out by helicopter. The coroner later determined death to be from suffocation.

AVALANCHE DATA
Rescuers suspected that the skiers had not triggered the avalanche. They classified it as a SS-N-3 which released near the 10,000-foot level about 200 feet above the skier's tracks. The victims had entered a large, open slope on the east flank of Jackson Peak and were traversing the lower portion of the slope. The snow fractured 18 inches deep and 150 feet wide on the 40º slope above them. The weather was so bad that the victims probably did not see the avalanche coming. It fell approximately 250 vertical. Debris was 6 feet deep in the runout. Heavy snow deposition on a lee slope had caused the avalanche.

COMMENTS
The two ski tourers showed little awareness of avalanche hazard. They began their trip in bad weather was so bad on the day of the avalanche that navigation and safe route selection would have been extremely difficult. Finally, the two men were traveling too close together. Had they been separated, the leader's life - and thus both men's lives - may well have been saved since his ski tips were visible and an ice mask around his face indicated he had lived form some time beneath the snow. Avalanche personnel have hopes that avalanche awareness lectures and avalanche warning programs can minimize this kind of accident.