Kalispell man killed in avalanche

Geoffrey Richard Caldbeck died in an avalanche Saturday in the Swede Creek area near Olney.

The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office released the man’s name late Monday afternoon in a press release after notifying his family.

The 33-year-old Kalispell resident was the son of Ron Caldbeck, who owns Winter Wonderland Sports, a snowmobile and ski rental business in Olney, as well as Wild Wave Rentals, a watercraft rental business.

Caldbeck was one of two snowmobilers buried in the avalanche on Saturday. It was the first fatal avalanche in the Flathead area since February 2012.

One of the snowmobilers was able to dig himself out and help the third snowmobiler locate and extricate Caldwell’s body. All three were wearing beacons.

“The one victim said it took him probably 20 minutes to get himself dug out,” Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry said Monday. “Some people survive after an hour or two down there, and some people don’t survive after 15 minutes. It’s dependent on a lot of factors.”

Curry said the initial call came in at 4:15 p.m. Saturday, after the other two snowmobilers hiked back into an area with cellphone service.

Due to darkness and poor weather conditions, Caldbeck’s body was not recovered until Sunday.