Skiers trigger avalanche in Rocky Mountain National Park, one injured

The Colorado Avalanche Information Center is reminding skiers that the potential for avalanches remains high in some areas after a skier was injured on Saturday.

Three people were skiing the upper chute in the Haiyaha Couloir in Rocky Mountain National Park when they triggered an avalanche, said CAIC. One skier was recording a video when the Wind Slab avalanche began; it cleared part of the slope, carrying one group member away.

CAIC said the avalanche fractured above him with an 8-14" crown, and he was briefly buried. He managed to grab onto a tree, but dislocated his shoulder in the process.

As the other two skiers rushed to help, another rider was caught in a slide. They were able to treat the injured person and safely exit the area. The other two skiers were not injured.

In a Facebook post, the CAIC advised skiers to be aware of areas with the highest avalanche danger.

"People are out enjoying the new snow, and reports of human-triggered avalanches are coming in. While there are many places you can travel safely, you need to be aware of where you could trigger an avalanche that could injure you or worse. In the places with a deeper snowpack, such as in the Park Range, Elk and West Elk Mountains, you can trigger the largest avalanches. In other places, the avalanches you might trigger will be smaller, but still potentially dangerous in consequential terrain, the CAIC said.

They reminded those taking to the slopes that many factors can contribute to an avalanche and encouraged skiers to share information about their incidents to help others learn from them.