Authorities have identified one of two men who were killed in separate avalanches in Colorado on Sunday.
The Clear Creek County Coroner’s Office says 57-year-old David Heide of Saint Mary’s died while skiing alone Sunday morning in the Mount Trelease area north of Loveland Pass, about 57 miles west of Denver.
The county sheriff’s office says members of the Alpine Rescue Team found the man’s body in an avalanche debris field near the popular backcountry skiing area.
Another man was killed in an avalanche while snowmobiling near Winter Park in Grand County on Sunday afternoon.
The Grand County Sheriff’s Office says responders found the snowmobile had been carried onto a frozen lake and later located the rider in the snow. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Grand County Coroner’s Office is investigating his cause and manner of death.
The men are the ninth and 10th people to be killed by avalanches in Colorado this winter, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. The average number of people killed in Colorado avalanches each season is six.
In Colorado, the snowpack is exceptionally weak this year with the avalanche danger as bad as it has been since 2012. Backcountry recreationalists have been warned to take care over the long Presidents Day weekend.