Two more deaths reported in western skiing areas

SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - A snowboarder and a downhill skier died at a ski resort in northwestern Montana this weekend, bringing to at least 10 the number of fatalities this season at ski areas in the western United States.

In separate incidents on Saturday at Whitefish Mountain Resort in Montana, a 29-year-old snowboarder suffocated in deep snow outside the bounds of the ski area and a 68-year-old man had likely died of a heart attack while skiing on a groomed run, a resort official said on Sunday.

The snowboarder was the second person to die in as many weeks at the ski area near Glacier National Park after falling into what is known as a tree well, or a pit of loose snow that can form beneath evergreens, said Whitefish Mountain Resort spokesman Donnie Clapp.

"We haven't had a tree-well fatality in more than 10 years, now we've had two in two weeks," Clapp said.

On December 29, a 16-year-old foreign exchange student from Germany skied into a tree well in the same out-of-bounds area at the resort and was found near death from suffocation. The teen died last Sunday after his parents ordered him removed from life support.

The fatalities came amid reports of other deaths in Western states tied to outdoor winter recreation.

Avalanche officials in Montana on Sunday confirmed one snowmobiler was killed and four others trapped in avalanches Saturday in the mountains east of Flathead Lake near Glacier National Park.

The death of the 52-year-old snowmobiler in the Flathead Valley's backcountry came one day after the Glacier Country Avalanche Center in Kalispell, Montana, advised against travel in the higher elevations because avalanches were likely.

That brought to six the number of people killed by avalanches in the northern Rocky mountains and Cascade mountains in less than two months, according to the American Avalanche Association.

Fatalities tied to skiing, snowboarding, and snowmobiling most often happen outside the bounds of groomed recreation areas that are considered safe, experts say.

Backcountry safety specialists say the region's abundant snowfall this season is drawing winter recreation enthusiasts into the high country, where there is more risk.

Steve Karkanan, director of the West Central Montana Avalanche Center in Missoula, said there is no room for error in the backcountry, where misjudgment can bring death.

"Even minor injuries can be a major ordeal," he said. "Once you cross that boundary outside of a ski area, you are in extreme conditions and you must be prepared to be your own expert and, if need be, your own rescuer."

Roughly 40 people die in accidents at ski resorts in the United States every year, according to the National Ski Areas Association. The majority of deaths, an association study said, come among males under age 30 skiing at high speeds on the margins of ski runs.

Snowmobiling is frequently linked to avalanche deaths, national statistics show. Last season, 36 people died in avalanches in the American West, tying a record set in the 2007-2008 season.

Craig Moore, member of a winter alpine rescue team in northwest Montana, said the growing popularity of extreme winter sports paired with high-performance equipment means there are more people at risk more often.

"The snow sports industry is going crazy and improved technology is taking people to places they couldn't get to before," he said.

(Writing and reporting by Laura Zuckerman. Editing by Peter Bohan)