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Show Wed/Thurs/Fri, February 9-11, 2005 The Park Record A-24 Avalanche victim had a beacon BRINGING THE POWER CLOSER TO HOME. 1! • Continued from A-22 temperatures. At Ihc summit of Sun Valleys Bald Mountain, the 100-inch snowpacked had shrunk to 50 inches in three weeks of January. While that left the snowpack in the Ketchum area at 77 percent of average, it was even worse in other parts of Idaho, reports the Idaho Mountain Express. This mid-winler thaw has been so uncommonly warm that some ski areas, including Idaho's Schweitzer Mountain, had to close. In Washington, elimatologist Philip Mote said he does not ever recall snow melting at an elevation of 6.200 feet during the middle of winter. This is part of a drought that has now continued in the Pacific Northwest for five years, the longest stretch of persistent drought in 100 years. •Plans B, C, and D go in effect in rainy Whistler 3151 KILBY KILBY RD. & PARK CITY, UT BLVD M MAXIMUM •River melting, roads treacherous in Banff STRENGTH Announcing another new Bank One location near you. Stop by today and get Free One Checking • with direct deposit. When you add over 1,800 banking centers and 6,500 Bank One and Chase ATMs, Maximum Strength Checking"' has never been more convenient. Visit our new Park City branch or call 435.615,2774, / 2004 Bank One is a division of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. w m o. WHISTLER. B.C. - Indoor rock climbing got big last week in Whistler. So did dream-catcher workshops, sessions at the spa, and day trips to outlying communities. What else is a poor tourist to do on a ski vacation when it is raining, sometimes lorrentially? Whistler, like much of the Northwest, has endured going on two weeks of warm weather and rain. On-mountain crews were waiting by to begin making snow, but it was much loo warm. As a result. Whistler-Blackcomb was discounting the cost of group ski lessons by 50 percent, with a similar price reduction offered at onmountain restaurants. Some lodges were calling those with reservations to inform them of the conditions, but few seemed to be canceling - after just a week of wet. reported Pique newsmagazine. If the warm weather continues, however, tourism officials in Whistler expect more substantial repercussions. One business owner contacted by Pique newsmagazine accepted the adversity stoically. "We all have trying times," said Doug Washer of Canadian Snowmobile Adventures," and everyone has a rough season now and again. But you liVe through that, and I think we will live through this." r e Meanwhile, niching ice in the Bow River forced caiK-ethilion ol' what would have been the 30th annual Mountain Madness Relay Race. The event calls fnr competitors lo cross that and oilier waterways. "The river is jus! loo unslahlc right now." explained Cathy Sinclair-Smyth, I Banff's special events coordinator. It's a rare occurrence in this part ol the world, hut we've seen a 50degree temperature difference this week. It's extraordinary. It's insane." she said, speaking Friday. Jan. 21. However, its not the first lime the cvenl was cancelled, us no winners were named in either 1991 or 1992. •Avalanche victim had a beacon, even Avalung REVELSTOKE. li.C. - For those who think thai an avalanche heacon represents safety against death by avalanche, yel more testimony lo the contrary was offered during January in the Selkirk Mountains near Revelsloke, There, a 20-year tradition turned tragic when Stephen M. Butts, the principal owner of n large real estate firm in Telluride. died in an avalanche. The annual trip to Canada had begun when Butts was still living in Aspen. and had grown lo include a large number of people from both Aspen and Telluride. Skiing immediately before him was John Pryor. mayor of Telluride. Snow conditions had been rated high lo ex Ire me in the Revel stoke area, sufficient to force cancellation of skiing the previous day. But guides decided the risk was sufficiently !<>\v if they kept to the trees. All wore transceivers and carried shovels, and the Revelstoke Times Review said they also were equipped with Availing, a new device that, if employed before the snow slops, allows a person to continue breathing while buried under the snow. Several people had skied the run previously before ihe avalanche struck. The companions and guides of Butts found and then dug him oui within five minutes, and a helicopter with medical gear was on I he scene within 10 minutes, but all to no avail. An autopsy later indicated that he had died of «i fractured spine, most likely causing his immediate death as he was dragged through stands of small trees. Butts had been recruited from Aspen in 19X2 by Ron Allred. then CEO of the Telluride ski company. Ironically. Bulls has recently restructured Telluride Properties lo allow brokers to buy in. freeing him to take more time off. However, putting a silver spin on it. the Telluride mayor. Pryor, told T h e Telluride Watch that Butts died while doing what he loved most. "Honestly, he died with his best friends, skiing his favorite run. while helicopter skiing, which is one of the greatest thrills in life." BANFF, Alberta - The storm that drenched Whistler also created odd and even treacherous conditions in the Bow River Valley from Canmore to Lake Louise. The weather had turned from intensely cold to rain that froze whe n hitting the TransCanada and other highways. Even snowplows spreading sand couldn't stay upright. The valley was drowned by more than IS millimeters of rain on Jan. 17-21, with temperatures right at freezing. All this caused the snowpack at ski areas to shrink, and in several cases, for the ski areas to close because of closed roads. The highway north from Banff was closed for a time, as was the A Hen Best has edited TransCanada Highway in what mountain town newspapers the Rocky Mountain Outlook for 20years. He has ser ed as says was the greatest series of managing editor at four difroad closures in at least 10 years. ferent' nw unfa in town newsAs well, the rain created extreme papers and is now firing in avalanche conditions. metropolitan Den er Jewelry LANNY RADNADD, -135-658-3130 577 SOUTH MAIN STREET. 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