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A Lander man was killed Saturday in an avalanche near Breccia Cliffs on Togwotee Pass.
Kenneth “Kenny” Goff, 36, worked as a nurse and had been an instructor with the National Outdoor Leadership School since 2017, the AP reported.
Goff was in a party of four ascending a skin track near Breccia Cliffs when an avalanche was remotely triggered on steep slopes about 600 feet above them, according to a preliminary report from the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center, posted Sunday.
Goff in a social media post from 2020.
One other person suffered a leg injury in the accident and was transported by ambulance from Grand Teton National Park.
Just before noon on Saturday, Teton County Search and Rescue received an alert via iPhone satellite text-to-911.
Low visibility and challenging conditions forced responders in a helicopter and snowmobiling to turn around. It took almost four hours to reach the scene by skis, where first responders treated the injured skier and the remaining members of the party.
Rescue volunteers also began recovering the deceased skier for transport out of the backcountry via a technical rescue sled, working into the evening.
“This tragic incident serves as an important reminder of how much longer a rescue mission can take when the helicopter is grounded, and should be another factor to consider in your backcountry planning should an accident occur,” a report from TCSAR said.
The Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center is investigating the incident.
This is the fifth avalanche fatality of the winter, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
