Blizzards Cripple Parts of US West, Two Dead In Avalanche

January 3, 2004

Photo: Jason Roberts skis in the Northwoods area of Vail Mountain, in Vail, Colo., Friday, Jan. 2, 2004, in this photo provided by Vail Resorts. It's dumping snow across the West and ski resort operators couldn't be happier. From Snowbird in Utah to Vail in Colorado to the Big Mountain resort in Montana, the story appears to be the same big snow resulted in big crowds of skiers during the holidays, a key money-making time for resorts. (AP Photo/Vail Resorts, Cody Downard)

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, (AFP) - Blizzards that began Christmas Eve have crippled parts of the mountainous western United States, piling more than two meters (six feet) of snow on Salt Lake City, Utah, and killing a couple whose mountain cabin in neighboring Idaho was buried by an avalanche as they slept.

Marsha Landolt, 55, the dean of the University of Washington Graduate School, and her husband, Robert Busch, 58, died early Friday when their cabin was engulfed by the snowslide, Camas County, Idaho, Sheriff Dave Sanders said.

Five other family members staying at the cabin somehow survived, he said.

More than 25 major roads in Idaho were made impassable by snow.

In Utah, more that 10,000 homes were without power as utility crews have struggled to restore power lines downed by the snow accumulations.

Utah Power and Light was also the victim of a bomb scare. A caller believed to be an irate customer phoned the company saying there was a bomb at a Salt Lake City power plant, but authorities found nothing at the site.

At Powder Mountain ski resort north of Salt Lake City, three missing snowboarders were found by helicopter Friday morning after they spent the night in a back-country canyon.

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/2004-01-03-snow-avalanche_x.htm

Western Storm Brings Snow, Avalanches

Western Storm Dumps Nearly 3' of Snow in Some Places, Causes Avalanches, Closes Roads, Strands Vehicles

January 3, 2004

BOISE (AP) — A storm that dumped nearly three feet of snow in some places launched avalanches and closed roads Friday, stranding snowmobiles and cars alike.

At one point Friday morning, 25 major roads were closed in eastern and central Idaho.

"That's the most that anyone could remember in recent years," said Mel Coulter, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation. "The snow was closing roads faster than we could keep up with it."

Nearly 60 miles of one highway in central Idaho were blocked by avalanches, and another avalanche in the same area slammed into a mountainside cabin, killing a couple as they slept inside.

In Utah, three groups of snowmobilers were stranded overnight after heavy snow stranded them in the mountains. All were rescued Friday morning.

Disoriented by high winds and blowing snow, one group of three people "ended up losing track of where we were," said Danny Wilson, one of the lost snowmobilers. He said they made small fires of pine needles.

Two other groups found each other in the backcountry of the Monte Cristo mountains.

"That was a bad storm to be spending the night in, but luckily they were well-dressed for it," said sheriff's Sgt. Brad Randall, who was in a helicopter that spotted the snowmobilers five miles from the highway.

Blizzard-like conditions also temporarily closed 40 miles of Interstate 80 in remote southwestern Wyoming. The Jackson area received nearly three feet of snow since the storm moved in Wednesday.

As the storms moved eastward, they blanketed the Colorado mountains with up to 18 inches of snow on Friday.

"It was a whiteout," said Megan DeVelder, 17, who had intended to go skiing Friday, but turned back after driving about 60 miles.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040103/ts_alt_afp/us_weather&cid=1506&ncid=1112