Deadly season for snowmobiling in U.S. Rockies

SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - Tyler Youderian had no intimation of disaster on a recent Sunday when he steered his snowmobile up Lionhead Mountain overlooking Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

The 26-year-old Montana man was making his final run up the mountain when its snow descended around him. "In my head, I remember saying, 'You're in serious trouble,'" he said.

Seconds later, a 300-foot-wide wall of snow swept Youderian from his snowmobile and 500 feet down the mountainside. Neither Youderian nor the riders who saw his high-speed descent can say today exactly how he survived it -- and avoided injury.

Others have not been so fortunate. It has been one of the deadliest seasons on record for snowmobilers in the avalanche-prone Rocky Mountain West. Killer avalanches have claimed 20 lives in the United States so far this year, with January through March the peak period for such fatalities.

The vast majority of those deadly slides were triggered by their victims, half of whom were snowmobilers, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

Avalanche-caused deaths involving snowmobiles and men under age 30 have risen in recent years. Snowmobiling is now the top recreation associated with avalanche fatalities, eclipsing both climbing and backcountry skiing, figures from the Colorado center show.

Avalanche experts say the trend is linked to a growing passion for extreme snowmobiling, a sport made possible by advances in design and engineering that boost the power, speed and agility of the vehicles.

High-performance snowmobiles can take riders into avalanche terrain -- steep, snow-covered slopes above timberline -- that until now has been considered virtually inaccessible. But riders' ability to reach the backcountry is outstripping their ability to assess or control its threat.

"People are having trouble in avalanche country because they're in it," said Doug Abromeit, director of the National Avalanche Center in Ketchum, Idaho. "Once you've made the decision to get into that terrain, it becomes risk management."

EXTREME THRILLS

Some extreme snowmobilers are even triggering avalanches on purpose to heighten the thrill of their mountain runs.

A string of companies offer action-packed videos featuring snowmobilers performing death-defying feats at high altitude. "Our riders . . . know it's not a matter of if they get hurt, it's a matter of when," boast the producers of the DVD "Alticity 6: Dedication."

Such fearlessness is reinforced by the thrill of successfully outrunning an avalanche, which can travel up to 80 miles per hour.

"You have people whose first experiences are positive, but it's not until someone gets hurt or dies that they go, 'Oh, this is actually really dangerous,'" said Evelyn Lees of the U.S. Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center.

There are 1.7 million registered snowmobiles in the United States, according to the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association. There are no age restrictions on the sport and training is recommended but not required.

Snowmobiling is one of the economic engines of the U.S. West, luring tens of thousands to remote mountain regions each season and pumping millions into the national economy.

Snowmobile enthusiasts fear reports about high-risk riders and avalanche-related deaths may lead to unwanted restrictions on the sport, which they say is as much about enjoying the great outdoors as it is about personal achievement. And the heady mix of fresh powder, mountain views and speed is worth the risk, they argue.

"Do we close down campgrounds in the summer because a bear may attack?" said Ed Melcher, representative for the Montana Snowmobile Association. "The only way you can avoid risk is by locking yourself in a rubber room."

With more people flocking to the American West high country to snowmobile and a soaring number taking the sport to its limits, officials are hoping to expand public awareness of the dangers of avalanches, including into schools.

For Youderian, the Montana snowmobiler who recently survived an avalanche, it has been conversion by dire circumstances. "When you see a mountain moving around you, it really gets your attention," he said.