Yet another person recreating in the back country has died as the result of an avalanche.
Teton County Search and Rescue was notified of a snowboarder buried by an avalanche just after noon Thursday near Wind River Lake near the top of Togwotee Pass.
Search and Rescue Chief Advisor Cody Lockhart says a group of snowboarders had built a substantial “kicker” to launch up toward a slope, and when the victim landed, it triggered the slide which Lockhart described as having a five-foot crown. The boarder was totally buried.
Lockhart said he was wearing a beacon and his companions were able to unbury him and begin life support efforts.
Coincidentally, members of Search and Rescue were training on snowmobiles a short distance away and were on the scene within ten to 15 minutes. They continued efforts to resuscitate the victim and restored a pulse until he was short-hauled to an ambulance which took him to the airport to be flown to Idaho Falls.
He later died at the hospital. The victim has been identified as a seasonal resident of Jackson, 31-year-old Michael McKelvey.
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