Two killed in avalanche near Mount Baker

The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office has identified two snowmobilers found dead after a New Year’s Day avalanche near Mount Baker.

Lt. Scott Rossmiller said Rescuers found Danny Woods, 63, of Custer, beneath about two feet of snow about 1 p.m. Woods was among five snowmobilers who were swept down a slope Tuesday in an avalanche north of Mount Baker. A woman found buried beneath the avalanche Tuesday was identified as Shiela Rowe, 43, of Everett.

Rossmiller said the snowmobilers, a group of family and friends, were in the Church Mountain area of Excelsior Pass on Tuesday afternoon when they were caught in an avalanche about 1 p.m. and swept several hundred feet downhill.

Two in the group were uninjured, a sheriff’s press release said. One person was able to dig out after being buried in the snow. An hour after the avalanche, the group found Rowe, who was wearing an avalanche beacon. It took the group another hour to dig the woman out from six feet of snow. They were unable to resuscitate her.

The group searched the area for the remaining snowmobiler for another two hours before calling for help, the release said.

Faith Gallatin, a member of the Whatcom County Snowmobile Association, said Woods had been a member of the club in the past. She said members of the Woods family had a tradition of camping and snowmobiling in the area for the new year. Rossmiller did not know whether Woods was wearing an avalanche beacon.

The snowmobilers were on a slope at the 5,300-foot level when the avalanche occurred. The snow was 5 to 6 feet deep, and the fracture was at least 100 yards long.

Rossmiller could not say what equipment the group was carrying. The names of the others involved have not been released.

The Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center warned of “considerable avalanche danger above 4,000 feet” in the area, in a forecast for Tuesday. The center called for “caution and safe travel routes,” in the area.