Crews Find Body Of Man Who Died In Avalanche Driver Was ‘High Marking’ On Hill Near Blewett Pass

The body of a Lake Stevens snowmobiler who died in an avalanche about six miles south of Blewett Pass was uncovered Monday in two feet of snow.

The victim was identified by KIRO-TV in Seattle as Craig Rodgers, 38.

Rodgers and his snowmobile were buried Sunday while he and several other drivers were “high marking” on Snowshoe Ridge, Kittitas County Undersheriff John Jewett said.

Jewett described high marking as running up a hill to see how far a snowmobile can go.

In Montana, Gallatin County authorities on Monday released the identity of a Bozeman man killed in a weekend avalanche northwest of Yellowstone National Park.

Michael Scott Northey, 24, was snowmobiling with others on Sage Peak about 60 miles south of Bozeman Sunday afternoon when he was buried under 4-6 feet of snow, said Gallatin County Coroner Rob Myers.

Members of Northey’s party and Big Sky Search and Rescue recovered the body, but attempts to revive Northey were unsuccessful.

Three other snowmobilers were killed Sunday in an avalanche near Cooke City, northeast of the park. They were identified as Brian Charles Alexander, 25, and Jeremy David Thiel, 26, of Cody, Wyo., and Canadian Mervin D. Sawatzky, 35, of Mather, Manitoba.

Cooke City Search and Rescue Team member Rick Sommers said the victims were snowmobiling in a dangerous place.

He also was concerned that only one snowmobiler was equipped with a transceiver. “I’m still surprised that people spend tons of money on snowmobiles and gear, but not transceivers. It gives them a helluva good chance if something like this happens,” Sommers said.

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