Snowboarder dies in avalanche that buried two people in Colorado, officials say
A snowboarder is dead after they triggered an avalanche and got buried in Colorado, officials said.
Another snowboarder was buried by the avalanche but survived. Four people were caught in the avalanche slide in total, the Colorado Avalanche Information center said in a news release.
Snowboarders triggered two avalanches at about the same time, around 1 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 26, the center said on Facebook.
They were caught near the summit of Berthoud Pass. The area is known locally as Nitro Chute, an east-facing avalanche path at around 11,500 feet, the release said.
Two riders managed to stay on the surface and managed to track down both buried riders using their avalanche transceivers. Only one of them was breathing when they found them, the release said.
The riders tried CPR along with a group of witnesses, but they weren’t able to revive the other snowboarder, the release said.
He was 44 years old and had been snowboarding with his family when the avalanche struck, according to the Grand County Sheriff’s department. Search and rescue staff recovered his body before sundown, the release said.
Backcountry tourers should be careful as the state enters a period of high avalanche danger, 9News reported. Conditions are similar across much of the Northern and Central Mountains into Tuesday, through winter storms the rest of the week and into another large snowfall during the weekend.
“This is a tragic reminder that you can trigger a dangerous avalanche on many wind-loaded slopes steeper than about 30 degrees,” the avalanche center said on Facebook.
Some areas are under avalanche watches as “very dangerous avalanche conditions” develop Tuesday night and last through Thursday morning, the center said. Advisories and warnings are posted and updated regularly at avalanche.state.co.us.
“Don’t let time off work, new equipment your backcountry partner bought you for the holidays, or the excitement of fresh powder lure you into dangerous avalanche terrain during an extended period of dangerous avalanche conditions,” the center told 9News.
This story was originally published December 27, 2022 at 1:49 PM with the headline "Snowboarder dies in avalanche that buried two people in Colorado, officials say."
