OWEN CREEK, BIGHORN MTS., WYOMING January 19, 1972

From: The Snowy Torrents

WEATHER CONDITONS
A storm beginning on January 18 brought wind and snow to the Bighorn Mountains of north central, Wyoming. At Burgess Junction, 6 miles north of the accident site, 2 inches of snow fell on the 18th. On the 19th, heavy snow fell most of the day, piling up an additional 16 inches containing 1.22 inches water equivalent.

ACCIDENT SUMMARY
On Sunday, January 19, a party of four cross-country skiers from Sheridan College left Highway 14 near Owen Creek Campground for a day’s tour. Heavy snow was falling, and breaking trail was a chore. The two women in the group returned to the truck while Rick Caller, 24, and Bruce Tomsovic continued the tour.

The two men were skiing across a timbered slope at 1630 on the return leg of the tour. Tomsovic lost a ski. He stopped to put it back on, and Caller continued skiing. Moments later Tomsovic heard a loud boom: the snow settled and cracked around him but did not slide. He followed Caller’s track about 70 yards to where they entered a clearing on the slope. The snow had fractured and avalanched. There was no sign of Caller.

RESCUE
Tomsovic probed the snow and searched for clues for several minutes but found nothing. He returned to the truck and drove to Bear Lodge where he found a member of the local search and resue team. A small group of rescuers returned to the site, but they too found nothing and quit because of darkness and the storm.

The following morning a large rescue team gathered at the avalanche site. They quickly coarse probed the entire slide areas with no luck. A fine probe was initiated, and four hours later at 1530, Rich Caller’s body was found under 7 feet of snow. Snow was packed tightly in his mouth and nose. He had died of suffocation.

AVALANCHE DATA
This avalanche, classified as SS-AS-2, had a fracture depth of about 3 feet and was triggered by the victim. The lee slope had loaded with drifting snow. Instability was caused by 3 to 4 feet of falling and drifting snow that had piled on top of the old snow surface in about 24 hours. The rescue team heard and felt sudden settlement and were worried about another avalanche during the rescue.

COMMENTS
Poor route selection on a high hazard day claimed another life. Avalanche awareness training can prevent this type of accident.