[pct-l] Two hikers dead in avalance near Snoqualmie Pass

[Tom Griffin]

While Southern California has its wildfires, we have our torrential 
rains in the Pacific Northwest. A 20-mile stretch of I-5 is closed 
between Seattle and Portland. In addition to the lowland flooding, we 
have lost some hikers in the mountains near Snoqualmie Pass. Here is an 
article from the Seattle Times:

Bodies of two hikers found near Snoqualmie Pass

The bodies of two hikers who were apparently crushed by an avalanche 
last weekend were found today by a search-and-rescue team near 
Snoqualmie Pass.

A 33-year-old woman, her 38-year-old husband and another man, described 
as a family friend, went a hike near the Alpental Ski Area in the Alpine 
Lakes Wilderness area on Friday night, said King County sheriff's 
spokesman John Urquhart. When they didn't return home as planned on 
Sunday, the father of one of the hikers drove to Alpental Monday and 
found their vehicle in the parking lot. He then contacted the Sheriff's 
Office.

The search was hampered by weather on Monday. Today searchers found the 
bodies of the woman and the family friend, 38. The woman's husband 
survived the avalanche, suffering a broken leg, and was rescued, 
Urquhart said.

Their identities were not immediately released.

Search-and-rescue crews are looking for another group of hikers who also 
disappeared in the Cascades over the weekend. The group of four — three 
men and a woman ranging in age from 22 to 55 — went hiking near the 
Denny Creek trailhead on Sunday, Urquhart said.

Search-and-rescue crews have made cellphone contact with the second 
group, but haven't been able to reach them, he said.

Urquhart said they believe the heavy snow followed by pounding rain 
created a perilous conditions for the two groups of hikers.


-- 
Tom (Bullfrog) Griffin
Seattle