BC Banter: Snow Returns to the West, Avy Fatality on Beehive Peak, Mont., Davenport In Hall of Fame, Austrian Man Survives 10 Hours in Avy, Teton Valley Locals Die in Plane Crash, Arc’teryx Begins defineFEMININE Contest

Snow Returns to the West

As winter winds down on the East Coast, the Western U.S. received some serious end-of-the-season snowfall this week. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning through Saturday for Western Colo., with expected accumulation of 12-24 inches. In Utah, Alta is reporting 34 inches of new snow, and Snowbird and Brighton are reporting 45 and 22 inches, respectively. And the Northwest is seeing snow, too: April 1 brought 10 inches to the Cascades, followed by another welcomed 14 inches above 4,500 feet. Although most avalanche forecast centers in the continental U.S.—excluding Bridger Teton Avalanche Center and Mt. Washington—have ceased forecasting for the season, hazards remain present. Many centers, like the Utah Avalanche Center, are still compiling and reporting observations.

Avalanche fatality on Beehive Peak, Mont.

BIG SKY, MONT. On Saturday, April 11, four skiers in the Hanging Garden Couloir, located on Beehive Peak outside of Big Sky Mont., when Jens Hagen Anderson, 28, triggered a small avalanche. Although the avalanche itself was not large (10-20 feet wide), it swept Anderson over a rock face, where he fell approximately 300 feet. By the time Hagen Anderson’s partners reached him, he had succumbed to injuries. Avalanche conditions were rated low that day, and the skiers reported the surface snow at the site of the avalanche to be soft and not an obvious wind slab.

Chris Davenport Inducted into U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, COLO. Chris Davenport, professional big-mountain skier and ski mountaineer, was inducted into the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame last Saturday, April 11. Davenport, 44, is perhaps best known for being the first person to ski all 54 of Colorado’s 14,000 foot peaks within 12 months. He has also summited Mt. Everest and skied the adjacent Lhotse Face, as well as Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn. “The thing I’m maybe most proud of is that I’m still here, still alive,” said the Aspen transplant (Davenport grew up in New Hampshire) in a recent Denver Post interview. “I’m very proud that I’ve done all these things and I’m still around. I’m even more proud that I’ve been able to raise a family while continuing to do what I do.”

Austrian Survives Ten Hours Under Avalanche

GSCHNIZTAL, AUSTRIA An Austrian man is alive and recovering well after 10 hours spent under an avalanche on Sunday in Gschnitztal, Tyrol. The man, 23, was out skiing with a partner in the Sandesalm area, at an altitude of around 1,900 meters, when the avalanche (400 meters long and 200 meters wide) released. The pair was reported missing around 6:45 on Sunday night when they didn’t return home for lunch, and a helicopter search quickly followed. Although the team was located that night, the survivor’s partner was reported deceased when found. The survivor was flown to a hospital in Innsbruck, Western Austria, where he was treated for hypothermia.

Teton Valley Locals Die in Plane Crash

TETON VALLEY, IDAHO On Friday, April 10, four men were killed in a plane crash near Idaho’s Diamond D Ranch, which sits about 30 miles away from Challis. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff and the men, AJ Linnell, Andy Tyson, Russell “Rusty” Cheney and the pilot and part-time Teton Valley resident John H. Short of Park City, Utah, were reported deceased to the Custer County Sheriff’s Office at approximately 4:25 p.m. Both AJ Linnell and Andy Tyson were longtime instructors with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). Tyson was also an Exum Mountain Guide, and Linnell was a Voilé ambassador and guide with Yostmark Backcountry Tours based out of Driggs, Idaho. A candlelight vigil was held on Sunday, where more than 600 people gathered to share stories and remember their community members. Friends have set up fundraisers for the families of both A.J. and Andy.

Arc’teryx Launches defineFEMININE Contest

VANCOUVER, B.C. This week, Arc’teryx introduced their defineFEMININE contest, presenting the opportunity to nominate a woman who is inspiring in the outdoors and defines (and redefines) femininity. The contest began on April 15 and runs through May 8. The four winners will receive an all-expenses paid week-long Arc’teryx adventure in Vancouver, Canada. Winners must be available for travel May 27 through June 3. As the contest unfolds, Arc’teryx is profiling their athletes, designers and guides, like Christina Lusti, to give participants a sense of who the contest is looking to celebrate. “She’s a ripping skier… She has so much experience in the mountains, I’m always learning from her,” says Angela Percival of Lusti in Arc’teryx’s The Guide video. “I think Christina is a natural leader in the mountains because she loves skiing.”