Avalanche forecaster dies in snowslide while skiing on Oregon mountain
An experienced backcountry skier died in an avalanche he triggered while skiing with a friend in Oregon last week, officials said.
Nick Burks, 37, died following a landslide on a chute at Gunsight Mountain near Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort on Wednesday, the Baker County Sheriff's Office said.
Burks was with another skier, William Sterling Sloop, and both were equipped with avalanche airbags and beacons, the sheriff's office said.
According to the sheriff's office, Sloop made it to the bottom first, and watched as Burks came down, when an avalanche was triggered and overtook him.
Sloop then used his transceiver to locate Burks near a tree. A group at the lodge had seen the avalanche and called first responders, before going over to assist Burks. When deputies arrived at the scene, bystanders were already performing CPR on Burks.
"We are grateful to those bystanders who immediately took action and performed CPR," the sheriff's office wrote.
Efforts to resuscitate Burks were unsuccessful and he died as a result of his injuries. Sloop was uninjured, the sheriff's office said.
Burks worked as an avalanche forecaster
Northwest Avalanche Center in Washington said Burks was "an integral part" of its professional avalanche community for years.
Burks was a former member of the snow safety team at Mt. Hood Meadows ski resort and an avalanche forecaster for the Wallowa Avalanche Center (WAC) in northeastern Oregon.
"We offer our deepest sympathies to our friends at WAC, and stand with everyone touched by this devastating event," the center wrote.