Imagine you are pushing your raft into whitewater at the start of a remote river trip and you turn to the person next to you and ask them a question about basic river safety, says Vail backcountry ski guide and avalanche safety instructor Kelli Rohrig. “And you find out that person doesn’t know how to […]
avalanche deaths
Posted inNews, Outdoors
Authorities identify Fort Collins woman killed in backcountry avalanche
Authorities have identified a woman who died when she was caught in a powerful avalanche while back country skiing in northern Colorado. Michelle Lindsay, 29, of Fort Collins was buried under snow at Diamond Peak Sunday, The Coloradoan reports. Other members of Lindsay’s ski party dug her from the snow, but found she was not breathing, […]
Posted inEnvironment, News, Outdoors
Fort Collins woman killed in avalanche on Cameron Pass in northern Colorado
FORT COLLINS — A 29-year-old Fort Collins woman died Sunday in an avalanche while backcountry skiing in northern Colorado. It’s the first avalanche death this winter season in Colorado, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office said the avalanche occurred about 2:45 p.m. Sunday near Cameron Pass along Colorado 14. […]
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Pre-season training preps avalanche dogs from Colorado and far beyond for search and rescue
DILLON — Luna yelps as she streaks through the lodgepole pines in a blur. “She wants it so bad. She loves to play,” says her handler, Scott Stolte, the assistant director of ski patrol at Wyoming’s Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. Luna, the youngest member of the Jackson Hole Ski Patrol, takes mere seconds to find […]
Posted inColoradans, Culture, Environment, Outdoors
It took an act of Congress to get two Colorado peaks named for renowned alpinist couple who died while climbing in Tibet
Deep in the rugged Wilson Range of southwestern Colorado’s San Juan Mountains sit two mountains linked by a toothy ridgeline. The taller one, at 13,498 feet, is steep, formidable and remote, with a striking couloir gashed across its east face. The shorter one, which rises to 13,123, is symmetrical, picturesque, with easier scrambles to its […]
Posted inCulture, News, Outdoors, Outsider
Showers, catered meals, wine lists: Colorado’s newest backcountry ski huts are following Euro and Canadian model
RED MOUNTAIN PASS — Their moms were not pleased with the plan. Four 20-something pals from the Midwest were preparing to go backcountry skiing in the San Juans, around Red Mountain Pass. Their parents had read news reports of an avalanche — the first of the Colorado season — involving a student in an avalanche-education […]
Posted inNews, Outdoors
A ducked rope line. A massive avalanche: Detailed report on deadly Telluride slide comes as sheriff’s probe continues
In late December, San Miguel County Sheriff Bill Masters warned skiers and snowboarders about the region’s mounting avalanche dangers and said ducking boundary ropes and ignoring closures at Telluride ski area could result in criminal charges like reckless endangerment. “What people don’t realize is that they can trigger an avalanche that has life-threatening risks to […]
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Avalanche slams into home of southwest Colorado sheriff, injuring him and two of his children
An avalanche early Tuesday slammed into the home of Hinsdale County Sheriff Justin Casey, injuring him and two of his children. The slide happened at about 6:30 a.m. south of Lake City. One of the three suffered serious injuries while two others had minor injuries. Further details were not immediately released. The Hinsdale County Administrator’s […]
Posted inNews, Outdoors
Colorado’s 7th avalanche fatality this season comes in Jones Pass slide during historic conditions
A backcountry skier employed by a guide service was killed in a slide in Clear Creek County on Thursday amid “historic” avalanche conditions across Colorado so extreme that authorities were advising people on what to do if their vehicles are struck by a wall of snow. The avalanche on Jones Pass killed 48-year-old Hans Berg, of […]
Posted inColoradans, News, Outdoors
Telluride’s avalanche-battling arsenal: WWII cannons, 3D mapping and discipline
MOUNTAIN VILLAGE — Taj Simon is charging up the narrow, windswept ridge. “Come on dad. Let’s go!” he yells to his father, Garrett, who is carrying the 7-year-old’s skis. The valley locals are atop Black Iron Bowl, a steep basin below Telluride’s Palmyra Peak, a good 20-minute hike up from the top of the Prospect […]