The humble railtown of Wellington, Washington in the heart of the Cascades Mountains was like any typical town in 1910. It offered a way station for passengers riding the Great Northern rail lines between Spokane and Seattle, with a hotel, general store, and modest post office. The town thrived on the train travel.
But the winter of 1910 wreaked havoc. The snows piled high, at times in double-digit feet. When tracks were opened by the rotary snowplows (pictured below) and workers tirelessly shoveling by hand, a new storm would drown the lines in a sea of cold white yet again.
Then in late February, under heavy snow, the trains reached a standstill in Wellington, including a passenger train and the important fast mail train. For days the workers tried to unearth the tracks buried in feet of snow. Each day came the promise to tired and complaining passengers, some with fussy children and even babies, waiting to be freed from this frozen prison. As the end of the month came, so too came the hope that they would move at last.
But it never came.
In the early morning hours of March 1, 1910, a fierce thunderstorm hit the area. Around 1 AM a huge half-mile chunk of heavy snow off the shoulder of Windy Top careened down the mountain, hitting the trains broadside, hurling them into a steep ravine near the Tye River. The area turned into a mass of twisted cars and shattered lives for those sleeping that night.
Ninety-six people lost their lives. Men, women, and children. The worst avalanche catastrophe in U.S. history.
Now on the anniversary of this terrifying event, Lauralee Bliss brings this tragedy to life in the book “When the Avalanche Roared.”
Though told through the eyes of two fictional characters, many of the people and events are factual. As is the devastation that ensued.
In a time that still sees tragedy unfold, this book is a humble reminder that even in great loss, hope can still be found.
