Washington Hikers Narrowly Escape Avalanche
The slide occurred near the Big Four Ice Caves.
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Two dayhikers survived a near-miss with an avalanche in Washington’s Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest over the weekend and captured the harrowing ordeal on camera.
Colby Dotson and Ashley Bechard ventured off-trail to explore the Big Four Ice Caves on Saturday when the snow pack released, NBC reports. The couple began running downhill immediately alongside about a dozen other hikers who were in the immediate vicinity.
“I heard something that sounded like a plane. No question in my mind, I just ran. I was like, ‘That’s an avalanche,’ and I ran,” Bechard told local news affiliate KING5.
The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office later said that two people inside the ice caves were briefly trapped by the slide, but performed self-rescue. No major injuries were reported.
Read more: NBC