Avalanche victim lived for the rugged outdoors

Donald J. Dovey was the kind of outdoorsman who once ran up a 2,500-foot slope with a full pack rather than be late meeting a climbing partner — a mountaineer so addicted to his sport he rarely spent a weekend indoors.

But even a bull as strong as Dovey, a 37-year-old climber, kayaker, skier and computer engineer, couldn't outrace the 120-foot-wide avalanche that swept down a slope Sunday near the Crystal Mountain Ski Area.

Dovey, of Seattle, was among seven backcountry skiers on a nine-mile trek sponsored by The Mountaineers outdoor recreation club when an avalanche struck the Norse Peak Wilderness Area, killing him, injuring another and temporarily trapping several others in the group.

"I once sat through a mountaineering lecture where the guy said if you climb regularly, eventually you'll lose friends to the mountains," said Paul Klenke, one of Dovey's many climbing partners. "You shirk it off and say, 'Nah,' but then it turns out to be true. It's horrible."

The group was skiing near Cement Basin, just east of the ski area, that had received 3 feet of snow in a week. The Northwest Avalanche Center listed conditions as "considerable avalanche danger" — a 3-out-of-5 rating for avalanche hazards.

But Steve Costie, executive director of The Mountaineers, said the group was well-trained, would likely have dug a pit in the snow to test the stability of its layers and had been skiing across the slope one at a time to avoid triggering a slide. Everyone in the group had taken — perhaps even taught — classes on avalanche safety, and expedition leader Nick Davies had checked conditions with the Northwest Avalanche Center.

"They did everything correctly," Costie said. "They responded within minutes. They did everything in textbook fashion. I doubt there was a better prepared group in the backcountry that day."

But, Costie said, "The mountain always has the upper hand."

Dovey, a member of The Mountaineers, an organization dedicated to outdoor safety and training, had been on dozens of private and club-sponsored outings, climbing everything from Sherpa Peak to Mounts Index, Rainier and Hood.

"Don epitomized the strong, silent trait," said Steve Firebaugh, former climbing-committee chairman with The Mountaineers. "He was always fit, competent, ready and always unassuming. He was observant and knew what to do to contribute to the party. He will be sorely missed by many."

Dovey was such an enthusiastic club member that his mother, Ellen Dovey, of Keizer, Ore., said she began worrying when she first heard TV reports of the avalanche. She turned to her husband, John, and said, "I hope Don wasn't with them."

Witnesses told authorities the avalanche hit about 1 p.m., and they skied down and helped dig out three of the skiers. Ken Madden, 44, of Seattle was partially buried and suffered a broken leg. He was treated and released from Swedish Medical Center.

The rest of the party found Dovey, buried under 5 feet of snow, using avalanche transceivers. Equipped with shovels and collapsible probe poles, the skiers, one of whom was a doctor, uncovered Dovey within 20 minutes, and for 25 minutes tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate him. Klenke, who climbed several peaks with Dovey, said he was famously fast and willing to bushwhack through difficult terrain to ease passage for the rest of his team.

"He was such a good guy — very considerate," Klenke said.

During a climb in June 2001, Dovey saw that his partner, Firebaugh, was recovering from a cold and volunteered to carry his rope and the team's water filter — and still took on the exhausting task of kicking steps into the snow for the rest of the party to follow.

"He passed away doing what he truly loved — being in the outdoors, enjoying a deep connection with nature," his family said in a statement. "He especially cherished the beauty of the Northwest."

Costie said that The Mountaineers will try to get counseling for survivors and will conduct its own investigation but that the accident is unlikely to change plans for future trips.

"This is as devastating as it can be, but that's part of the spirit of mountaineering — to keep getting out there, to follow your passion," Costie said.

Dovey's mother said he was very close to his girlfriend, who was overseas visiting family at the time of the accident. "He had everything going for him," she said. "We were really expecting a wedding this year, not a funeral."

Since the 1985-86 season, Washington state has had 20 fatalities, not including Dovey's death, due to avalanches, according to the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center.

Washington ranks sixth among states for avalanche-related fatalities in that period.

Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.

Craig Welch: 206-464-2093 or cwelch@seattletimes.com.