Avalanche kills Montana skier

BUTTE – A southwestern Montana man died in a backcountry avalanche over the weekend.

Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Coroner Jerry Thomas said 46-year-old Ron Russell was backcountry skiing Saturday morning outside Anaconda when he was overtaken by an avalanche.

The Montana Standard reported Russell was able to dig himself out and call for help, but he died of his injuries. He was skiing alone.

Russell was a longtime math teacher at Anaconda High School.

According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, he was the sixth person to die in an avalanche in Montana this winter and the 27th in the United States.