"Snow Pillow" inventor Beaumont dies

Meteorologist Robert Beaumont's "Snow Pillow" invention revolutionized the way scientists and environmentalists measure snowpack.

In the early 1960s, as a scientist for the U.S. Soil Conservation Service, Mr. Beaumont invented a device that automatically measured the snowpack's water content, allowing the agricultural industry to predict how much water from runoff would be available for crops during the spring.

Mr. Beaumont, of West Seattle, suffered a series of strokes a few months ago and died Jan. 10. He was 83.

His Snow Pillows, which are still in use, consist of panels shaped like pancakes that are filled with an antifreeze solution. When snow accumulates on the panels, the weight of the snow presses the antifreeze out of the panels to a sensor that measures how much of the solution has been displaced. That figure is used to calculate the amount of water in the snow.

Before there were Snow Pillows, skiers would use tubes and scales to weigh the snow.

"My father was a remarkable man," said his son, Daniel Beaumont. "He was very bright, but he was very modest about his own accomplishments."

Born in Deer Lodge, Mont., on July 6, 1922, Mr. Beaumont grew up on a ranch. His father later moved the family to Seattle's Alki neighborhood. In 1941, Mr. Beaumont enrolled at the University of Washington but left to join the Navy a year later. He flew at least 50 missions and was a decorated fighter pilot.

Mr. Beaumont was among those asked to patrol the skies above the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay in 1945, while General Douglas MacArthur accepted the surrender of Japan aboard the battleship, his family said.

After World War II ended, Mr. Beaumont returned to Seattle and married his girlfriend from West Seattle High School, Patricia King, and graduated from the UW with a meteorology degree.

He worked for the federal government, where he won the Department of Agriculture's Superior Service Award for his "Snow Pillow" invention.

In 1966, he left to work in the private sector, conducting rain studies and solar-energy projects in countries as far away as Libya, Afghanistan and Thailand. During one of his scientific projects in Africa in 1975, the twin-engine plane he was in crashed in the jungle of what was then known as Zaire.

Armed militiamen rushed to the crash site. A calm Mr. Beaumont gave the militia leader a Cuban cigar and charmed his way to safety, his family said.

"He liked working in unusual places and didn't seem to have any trouble adapting to life in remote places," said son Peter Beaumont.

Mr. Beaumont is survived by his wife, Patricia, of Seattle; sister Elizabeth Bair of Peoria, Ariz.; daughter Cathleen Bryan of Mercer Island; three sons, Daniel Beaumont of Rochester, N.Y., Peter Beaumont of Seattle, and James King of Redmond; and five grandchildren.

A service will be held at 11 a.m. Jan. 30 at Tahoma National Cemetery, 18600 S.E. 240th St., Kent. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Providence Mount St. Vincent Foundation, 4831 35th Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98126-2799.

Tan Vinh: 206-515-5656 or tvinh@seattletimes.com