CLE ELUM, Wash. (KOMO) -- A veteran of the Washington State Patrol was killed during an avalanche in the Cascades Monday afternoon. Trooper Steve Houle was riding snowmobiles with a friend in the French Cabin Creek area just before 1 p. m. when the avalanche occurred, according to the Kittitas County Sheriff's Office. Both men were overtaken by the snow as it hit near the Knox Creek Trailhead.