Snowmobiler killed in avalanche near Whitefish

Authorities have identified the 33-year-old Kalispell man killed in an avalanche Saturday while snowmobiling in the Swede Creek area of the Whitefish Range near Olney.

Expert snowmobiler Geoffrey Richard Caldbeck died of suffocation at the scene of the slide.

According to the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, three snowmobilers were riding together when one of them triggered the avalanche while riding down a steep slope. Two were buried and one was able to self-extricate.

The survivors were able to locate Caldbeck with the help of an avalanche transceiver. He was dug out, but attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful. The survivors then rode out for help.

Caldbeck’s body was recovered Sunday by a Two Bear Air helicopter.

Geoffrey was the son of Ron Caldbeck, who owns Winter Wonderland Sports, a snowmobile and ski rental business in Olney. Rob Milne, the manager of Winter Wonderland Sports, described Geoffrey Caldbeck as a highly experienced snowmobiler who frequently participated in competitions.

Milne said Caldbeck had a daughter and a wife, Tanya, who is pregnant with twins.

“Everybody just loved him a lot. He was a really great kid and had a great personality. He was like a son to me,” he said. “I hope everybody says a prayer for Tanya.”

Avalanche specialists with the Flathead Avalanche Center visited the accident site Sunday. The avalanche was measured at 200 feet wide with a crown depth up to 5 feet deep. The avalanche slid on a layer of weak, faceted snow beneath a rain crust.

The avalanche danger in the Whitefish Range on Sunday was rated as considerable, with natural avalanches possible and human-triggered avalanches likely. Recent avalanche activity had been reported across the region.

This is the second avalanche death in Montana in the past week. A Yellowstone Club ski patrol member was killed in a slide Jan. 19 near Cedar Basin in southwest Montana.

­— Daily Inter Lake reporter Sam Wilson contributed to this report