Avalanche — Mount Washington, Jan 18, 2008
39-year-old from Bartlett, TN (Lewiston, ME native)
Peter Roux, 39, was solo ice climbing in Odell Gully on January 18, 2008 — a day rated 'High' for avalanche danger by the Mount Washington Avalanche Center — when an avalanche, believed to be climber-triggered, carried him down. Reported overdue that evening, his body was found the next morning roughly 400 feet below the gully. The day's posted bulletin stated that natural and human-triggered avalanches were likely and travel was not recommended; Odell Gully sat in the direct lee of wind loading as winds shifted west.
What we can learn
High avalanche danger ratings in Huntington Ravine are not advisory in name only — the AAC accident report frames this as a posted-high day on a gully that was loaded by the prevailing wind direction.
Contributing factors