Man buried while snow biking near Cascade, marking season’s first U.S. avalanche death
A Treasure Valley man died in an avalanche north of Boise over the weekend, marking the first avalanche death in the country this season.
The Adams County Sheriff’s Office said it received a report at 12:21 p.m. Sunday that an avalanche had buried someone near Wilson Creek Trail in the Anderson Creek area, west of Cascade.
The sheriff’s office identified the victim as 41-year-old Jason Haines, of Kuna.
Snowmobilers in the area helped get Haines out of the snowpack, but Haines died from his injuries at the scene after life-saving measures were unsuccessful, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
The Payette Avalanche Center said Haines was one of two people on snow bikes who triggered the avalanche near Lookout Peak.
“The slide was reported to be relatively small, but (Haines) was carried into a terrain trap and buried deeply,” the center said. “He was found with an avalanche beacon and extricated but did not survive.”
An observation report submitted to the avalanche center by a member of the public provided more details from the scene.
The observer said it appeared that the two snow bikers “dropped in then looped back and tried to ride back up when the slab broke.” One rider “managed to float on the bike down,” while the other “got knocked down, went in head first, and got buried upside down,” the observer said.
“I have seen this spot slide multiple times but nothing this extreme,” the observer said in the report.
Adams County Sheriff Ryan Zollman said he “would like to convey thanks to Valley County Sheriff’s Office, who assisted with search and rescue, and first response. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family during their time of grief.”
Haines’ death was the first avalanche death in the United States for the 2024-2025 winter season, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, which keeps a national record of avalanche-related deaths, confirmed to the Idaho Statesman.
Last season, the center recorded 16 avalanche deaths, including three in Idaho.
