SWITCH: Mobile | ePaper | Subscribe

Homes Rentals Jobs Autos Contests

Phuong Le

This photo taken Saturday, April 13, 2013 volunteers at a command post off Exit 52 along Interstate 90 prepare to join in the rescue operation to look for at least one missing snowshoer in Snoqualmie Pass, Wash. A female snowshoer has died hours after she was dug out of an avalanche by fellow hikers, and a man remained missing Sunday, one day after a pair of spring avalanches struck separate groups hiking in the Cascade Mountains east of Seattle, authorities in Washington state said. (AP Photo/The Seattle Times, Ken Lambert)

Deadly avalanches hit Washington mountains

Last updated Monday, April 15, 2013 - 11:33am

SEATTLE — A female snowshoer has died hours after she was dug out of an avalanche by fellow hikers, and a man remained missing Sunday, one day after a pair of spring avalanches struck separate groups hiking in the Cascade Mountains east of Seattle, authorities in Washington state said.

Avalanche, Avalanches, Snowshoeing, National Read more Comments

In avalance education, new focus on human factors

Phuong Le The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, January 21, 2013 - 3:10pm

SNOQUALMIE PASS, Wash. — Steve Hamill first ventured into the backcountry three years ago, drawn by a desire to be in the woods during the winter. But it was an unnerving encounter with a small avalanche that eventually drove the 52-year-old clinical engineer to a three-day course this month to learn how to survive in avalanche terrain.

Hamill is among a growing number of people seeking solitude, untouched powder and outdoor thrills.

Outdoors, Avalanche, Sports Read more Comments

Steven Powell faces lawsuit

Phuong Le The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, August 7, 2012 - 5:49pm

SEATTLE — Seattle attorneys on Tuesday filed a $20 million wrongful death claim against Washington state in the deaths of Josh Powell’s sons, days after Powell’s father was sued for illegally filming two neighbor girls in their bathroom in Puyallup, Wash.

Lawsuit, Steven Powell, Utah Read more Comments

This combo made from undated photos provided by Stevens Pass Ski Resort shows, from left, Johnny Brenan, Chris Rudolph and Jim Jack. The men died in an avalanche in an out-of-bounds area at the resort on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Stevens Pass Ski Resort via The Seattle Times)

Avalanche survivor tells 'horror story'

Phuong Le The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - 11:05am

SEATTLE — The expert skiers wasted no time after an avalanche hit and swept their friends down a steep slope in Washington state. They immediately turned on their emergency beacons and began searching for signs of life.

Avalanches, Backcountry skiing, Fatal avalanche, Skiing, Winter recreation, National Read more Comments

3 skiers killed in Wash. avalanche; 4th survived

Phuong Le The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, February 20, 2012 - 4:10pm

STEVENS PASS, Wash. -- Expert skiers caught in a weekend avalanche were equipped with safety devices and kept track of each other as they strayed beyond the boundaries of a popular Washington ski resort.

Avalanche, Backcountry skiing, Skiing, Sports, Winter Sports Read more Comments

In a photo provided by Mount Rainier National Park, Yong Chun Kim, 66, of Tacoma, smiles after he was rescued Monday, Jan. 16, 2012 on Mount Rainier after being missing since Saturday. He was reported missing on Saturday after he fell down a slope and became separated from a group he was leading in the Paradise area, a popular high-elevation destination on the mountain's southwest flank, about a 100-mile drive south from Seattle. A rescue team reached Yong Chun Kim on Monday afternoon but it took nine hours to bring him from the rugged terrain covered in deep snow to a road, spokeswoman Lee Taylor said late Monday, Jan. 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Mount Rainier National Park)

Missing snowshoer near Mount Rainer found alive

Phuong Le The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, January 17, 2012 - 11:32am

SEATTLE -- A 66-year-old snowshoer who was missing on Mount Rainier since Saturday was found alive Monday afternoon by a team of three rescuers, a national park spokeswoman said.

Outdoors, Missing Person, Mount Rainer National Park, Rescue, Snowshoeing, National Read more Comments

Mount Rainier National Park superintendent Randy King walks past a photo of Ranger Margaret Anderson and traditional ranger equipment before speaking at Anderson's memorial service Tuesday in Tacoma, Wash. Anderson, a 34-year-old mother of two young girls, was shot and killed Jan. 1 after setting up a roadblock to stop a vehicle that blew through a checkpoint on the road to the park's visitor center. (ELAINE THOMPSON/The Associated Press)

Thousands celebrate life of slain Mount Rainier ranger with Utah ties

Phuong Le The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, January 11, 2012 - 12:50am

TACOMA, Wash. — Margaret Anderson became a law enforcement officer with the National Park Service because she wanted to help people, and she put herself in the way of evil on New Year’s Day because of her deep religious faith and love for others, her father told thousands of people Tuesday at her memorial service.

Crime, Bryce Canyon National Park, Firefighters, Funeral, Mount Rainer shooting, National Parks, Park Ranger, Utah, Deaths, Law Enforcement Read more Comments

A photograph of Margaret Anderson and mountaineering sits on the stage of the memorial for U.S. National Park ranger Margaret Anderson held in Olsen Auditorium on the Pacific Lutheran University campus in Parkland, Wash. , Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012. Anderson was shot and killed on duty in Mount Rainier Naitional Park on New Year's Day. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Peter Haley, Pool)

Thousands celebrate life of slain park ranger with Utah ties

Phuong Le The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, January 10, 2012 - 5:07pm

TACOMA, Wash. -- Top federal officials, fellow park rangers and thousands of well-wishers have gathered in Washington state to celebrate the life of Margaret Anderson, a Mount Rainier National Park ranger who was fatally shot on New Year's Day.

Funeral, Mount Rainer shooting, Park Ranger, Shooting, National Read more Comments

(ELAINE THOMPSON/The Associated Press) Amanda Knox, left, is comforted by her sister, Deanna Knox, during a news conference shortly after her arrival at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011, in Seattle. It’s been four years since the University of Washington student left for the study abroad program in Perugia and landed in prison. The group Friends of Amanda Knox and others have been awaiting her return since an Italian appeals court on Monday overturned her conviction of sexually assaulting and killing her British roommate, Meredith Kercher.

Knox dad: She’s strong, ‘but it’s been tough time’

Manuel Valdes, Phuong Le The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - 9:51am

SEATTLE — The emotional strain built steadily for years as Amanda Knox sat locked away thousands of miles from her loved ones, all the while maintaining her innocence, wondering whether anyone who mattered would ever believe her.

Amanda Knox, Homecoming, National Read more Comments