Avalanche Expert’s Death Shows Dangers of Backcountry Skiing

An avalanche forecaster was killed in an avalanche while skiing in Oregon last week, the authorities said.

The forecaster, Nick Burks, 37, was backcountry skiing on Gunsight Mountain in the Elkhorn Mountains in northeastern Oregon on March 6 when he triggered an avalanche at the top of a couloir, or crevasse, in the mountain, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center reported. He was carried down the mountain by the moving snow.

Mr. Burks was skiing with William Sloop, who had already descended and was not injured in the avalanche, the Baker County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. Mr. Sloop performed CPR on Mr. Burks to no avail.

Both men were experienced at skiing in the back country, away from official trails, the Sheriff’s Office said, and they were properly equipped; Mr. Burks’s airbag deployed.

Mr. Burks was an avalanche specialist for the Wallowa Avalanche Center in Joseph, Ore., which provides avalanche and weather advisories and educates backcountry skiers and snowmobilers.

The accident highlighted the dangers of backcountry skiing, which is a far cry from a trip down the bunny trail at your local slope. “Resort skiing and backcountry skiing are night and day,” said Craig Gordon, an avalanche forecaster for the Utah Avalanche Center. On resort slopes, “the ski patrol have knocked down avalanches long before we arrive,” he said. “If we head into the back country, avalanches are not being knocked down for us.”