Avalanche Kills Dean of University and Husband

BOISE, Idaho —  An avalanche crashed down onto a mountainside cabin early Friday morning, filling it with snow and killing a couple as they slept.

Marsha Landolt, 55, dean of the University of Washington Graduate School, and her husband, Robert Busch, 58, were killed in the avalanche, which occurred between 1 and 2 a.m., the Camas County Sheriff’s Office reported.

Their son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren survived.

A slab of snow along the ridge above the cabin broke loose, triggering the avalanche, said Kyle Davenport, an administrative assistant at the nearby Soldier Mountain Ski Resort who assisted in the rescue effort.

“The room where the grandparents were found was filled nearly to the ceiling with snow,” he said.

The son and daughter-in-law were sleeping in the loft with their three small children, Davenport said. When they were awakened by the avalanche, the son tried to dig out his parents, but went to get help after about an hour and a half of digging, Davenport said.

“We got there at about 3:40 a.m., and at that point we knew it was a recovery effort,” he said. “It took the team probably another 45 minutes to an hour to get the grandparents out.”

Emergency workers first believed the family’s pet dog had died, but the animal had apparently been pushed into the fireplace, where he was able to get air through the chimney.

“He was scratched up and scared but otherwise OK,” Davenport said.

Landolt had been dean and a vice provost of the university since 1996, university spokesman Bob Roseth said. She was previously director of the university’s School of Fisheries.

“The university is in mourning on this very sad day,” university President Lee Huntsman said.

Soldier Mt. is about 80 miles east of Boise.