5 skiers caught in Colorado avalanches in 2 days
Five skiers were caught in four separate avalanches Wednesday and Thursday, including one who was entirely buried but quickly dug out when a friend heard his cries for help from under the snow.
The four avalanches occurred near Silverthorne, Aspen and Red Mountain Pass, according to reports compiled by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. The CAIC warned the public that all four incidents were the result of "wind slab" avalanches - large layers of wind-loaded snow breaking free under the weight of the skiers.
"The steady number of people caught over the past week is concerning," the agency stated on social media. "While we've had several spring-like days, it's important to remember that our snowpack is far from that typical springtime stability. With more snow and wind this weekend, the avalanche danger is even higher in many places than it was when all these incidents occurred this last week."
The burial incident happened Wednesday near Aspen. According to the CAIC's report, four skiers broke away from a larger group that was on a multi-day hut trip. The four began to climb a couloir on North Star Mountain locally knows as "Dr. Evil." Two of the skiers waited at the base of the couloir behind a rock outcropping as the remaining two proceeded higher, traversing back and forth with the skins on their skis.
Halfway up the couloir, the remaining skiers split. One kept his position while the other skier went higher. Twenty feet from the top of the ridge, that higher skier "heard a muffled collapse and noticed the slope drop a couple inches. It took several seconds before he realized the slope had avalanched and he was being taken for a ride," as stated in the CAIC report.
RELATED The other avalanche: Roofs heavy with snow in Colorado create danger
Just prior to the slide, one of the lower skiers ventured from behind the rock outcrop to observe descent lines. That person was hit in the back by the avalanche, knocked down, and carried down the slope.
However, it was the upper skier that was missing when the snow ceased moving.
The skier halfway up the couloir activated a rescue beacon to alert authorities, then began searching for the missing skier with an avalanche beacon. When that beacon provided a possible burial death of 2.5 meters, the skier said "he heard muffled yells underneath the snow."
The skier dug out the buried skier with a shovel and "cleared the buried skier's airway in less than 10 minutes from the start of the avalanche."
Two slides happened each day on Buffalo Mountain near Silverthorne. The CAIC that the numerous people skied the slope prior to it letting go.
"I set off a slide that broke about 15' above me," stated one of the skiers in a CAIC report. "I was immediately knocked off my feet and started riding the snow. Thankfully, I was able to self arrest and only slid about 40-50'."
Another skier was caught in a slide near Ouray in the Richmond Basin, but was able to ski out of the moving debris.
RELATED First Alert Weather: Tracking the ups and downs for the holiday weekend across Colorado
Only one of the skiers in the four slides was injured, and those injuries were not serious, per the CAIC.
