Avalanche kills 2 near Long Pass, Washington
At least 2 people were killed by an avalanche near Long Pass in Washington’s Cascade Mountains on January 9, 2026, while two others were safely rescued.
Helicopter being used for recovery operations after an avalanche kills 2 in Washington's Cascade Mountains on January 9, 2026. Credit: Kittitas County Sheriff's
The party of four was recreating in the backcountry snow near Longs Pass in the mountains of northern Kittitas County when the avalanche struck the area at around 16:00 local time (LT). The two survivors were able to send a distress signal using a satellite radio and were rescued that evening.
Responders reached the remote area using snowmobiles and winter backcountry equipment and transported the two survivors out that evening. Due to hazardous conditions, a nighttime recovery operation for the deceased was not conducted.
Teams returned with three trained avalanche search K9s. Air support was requested due to the rugged, remote terrain. King County’s Guardian 2 helicopter assisted by airlifting the two deceased men to a search base, where they were placed in the care of the Kittitas County Coroner’s Office.
Parts of the Pacific Northwest have been under a high avalanche risk since last week due to atmospheric rivers (AR) dropping rain and heavy snow.
The first AR made landfall over Alaska on January 9, bringing wet conditions to western Washington before merging with a second, weaker AR, which continued bringing heavy precipitation over the region.
Read more:
I am an Assistant Editor and Severe Weather & Science Journalist at The Watchers, specializing in real-time severe weather coverage, geophysical event reporting, and research-driven scientific analysis. You can reach me at rishav(at)watchers(.)news.
Commenting rules and guidelines
We value the thoughts and opinions of our readers and welcome healthy discussions on our website. In order to maintain a respectful and positive community, we ask that all commenters follow these rules.