Gonzaga University mourns two students killed in Idaho avalanche

Published: 2005-01-21

SPOKANE, Wash. (CNS) -- The Gonzaga University community in Spokane mourned the deaths of two students who lost their lives in an avalanche Jan. 16 while snowboarding in Idaho. The students were Brian Brett, 23, of Bellingham, Wash., and Pete Tripp, 23, of Bend, Ore. A third Gonzaga student, Sean Forbes, 22, survived the avalanche. He had been snowboarding with Brett and Tripp, and when he was unable to find his friends, he walked to a nearby residence and called for help. Freezing rain and avalanche danger prevented a recovery team from finding the bodies until late afternoon on Jan. 17. An overflow crowd attended a vigil service for the victims Jan. 17 in the chapel at the Jesuit-run university. According to news accounts, the students had snowshoed to the top of a ridge south of Mullan, Idaho, and had been snowboarding when the avalanche hit. Both of the buried snowboarders were wearing beacons, electronic devices that emit a signal to help locate buried avalanche victims.

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