Snowmobiler killed near Hungry Horse Reservoir

A 33-year-old Washington man was killed by an avalanche in the Lost Johnny area on the west side of the Hungry Horse Reservoir Feb. 20.

The avalanche was triggered around 4 p.m. as two Washington men rode snowmobiles about five miles from the West Side Reservoir Road. Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry identified the victim as Charles John Dundon III, of Connell, Wash.

"One of them triggered the avalanche and he was caught up in that avalanche and buried," Curry said. "The second guy was swept down by the slide but he managed to stay on top of it and stay on the snowcat."

The surviving snowmobiler said he was unable to locate Dundon, so he rode out to Hungry Horse and called 911 at around 7:30 p.m.

About 30 people with North Valley Search and Rescue, the Flathead County Sheriff's Office and the Flathead National Forest responded. The searches left the area around 12:30 a.m.

"We were able to reach the slide last night," Curry said on Tuesday. "The victim was located by the signal from his transceiver. He was deceased and his body was recovered last night."

Curry said he couldn't describe the dimensions of the avalanche because of the darkness.

"I wouldn't call it a huge avalanche, but it doesn't take a huge avalanche to bury someone," he said.

The current advisory posted online by the Glacier Country Avalanche Center rates the avalanche danger in Northwest Montana as "considerable" on steep, open terrain between 5,000 to 7,500 feet. Natural avalanches were considered possible, and human-triggered slides were probable.

"We're concerned that the potential for more human-caused slides still exists and we're urging people to exercise caution in the backcountry, especially with upcoming weather conditions," Curry said.