1 person killed in large avalanche in western Wyoming backcountry

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — An avalanche killed one skier and injured another after the group they were in triggered the large snowslide while ascending a mountain in western Wyoming.

The avalanche happened Saturday in a backcountry area about 20 miles (32 kilometers) east of Grand Teton National Park.

As the group of four people went up a steep slope at an elevation of 10,400 feet (3,150 meters), a large slab of snow about 5 feet (1.5 meters) thick broke away and slid, fully burying the victim and partially burying a second skier, according to Teton County Search and Rescue and the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center.

Authorities received an alert about the accident just before noon. It took rescuers almost four hours to reach the scene by skis after a helicopter tried to reach the site but had to turn around because of stormy weather.

Kenneth Goff, 36, of Lander, Wyoming, was killed, said Teton County Coroner Brent Blue. The second victim suffered leg injuries.

Goff worked as a nurse and had lengthy experience in the wilderness, including with Lander’s search and rescue team. Since 2017, he had been an instructor at the National Outdoor Leadership School, where Goff worked on climbing and mountaineering courses, a representative of the school said Sunday.

“Kenny was calm and caring, chronically positive, a climbing partner to many, and a friend to all,” said Sarah Martin, NOLS Rocky Mountain campus director. “He will be sorely missed.”

A series of snowstorms swept through Wyoming in recent weeks, including one on Saturday, said National Weather Service forecaster Jason Straub.

His death marks the fifth fatality caused by an avalanche in the U.S. so this winter.