New website maps avalanche dangers in Washington mountains

Normally, professor Michael Medler focuses his research on fires in forests, but when a student he knew died in an avalanche, his thoughts turned to snow in the mountains.
In December 2003, three students from Western Washington University were snowshoeing toward Artist Point by Mount Baker Ski Area when an avalanche buried them overnight. One student wriggled free and found help the following morning, and one miraculously survived being buried for more than 24 hours, but 21-year-old Jacqueline Eckstrom was found dead several feet below the surface.