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Show snow buried him, he was still able to move his right arm below the elbow, although his left arm was pinned under him. Using the free arm, he was able to push a small cleared space around his face. He tried several times to attract attention by shouting, but realized that he was only using up his energy and oxygen. Forcing himself to relax a little, he tried to reduce his breathing but finally lost consciousness. Apparently because of a probe pole stuck in the snow near him, his air supply improved and he regained consciousness. Finally he heard the voice of the fellow who sat on or near him and was rescued. He was cold - his body temperature was three degrees below normal - but a doctor on the scene could find no other injuries. COMMENTS The snowmobiles undoubtedly undercut the steep slope above them. This left the victim in the worst possible position when the slide ran. Recognition and avoidance of potential avalanche slopes would have prevented this accident. This is another example of a second or " hangfire" avalanche running from above the original slide. ( See report No. 62- 4) This accident occurred during a period of exceptionally high avalanche hazard throughout the Intermountain West. No. 65- 3 SNOWBANK MOUNTAIN. IDAHO 29 January 1965 ACCIDENT SUMMARY On 29 January, I965, a Federal Aviation Agency crew was working overtime to open the access road to the Agency's radio and television antenna site on Snowbank Mountain in Idaho. At this time of year the site was dependent on its own diesel generator for power. By late January the access road had to be cleared in order to transport additional fuel to the station's light plant. The area in which the crew was working had been covered by snow since late November; intermittent rain and snow during December and January resulted in a heavy snow pack. It had snowed the previous week and was raining on the 29th. Personnel working in the area did not consider the situation as potentially dangerous, although they had requested Forest Service action to remove a nearby cornice build- up. Late in the evening of the 29th, two D- 7 tractors ( without canopies) were operating approximately a quarter of a mile apart in an area near Potter s 121 |