The man, who hasn’t been publicly named, is the seventh avalanche death this winter season
snowmobile
Posted inOutdoors
Avalanche near Winter Park kills 2 backcountry snowmobilers
The Grand County Sheriff’s Office says it was alerted to the slide on Corona Pass, in the area of Mount Epworth and Pumphouse Lake, at about 2:15 p.m.
Posted inNews, Outdoors
After slow start, Colorado snowmobilers can finally rev up their machines this winter — and take a safety class
Ed Klim was skiing a local hill in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in January when he ran into some skiers from out-of-state. He asked them where they were from. “They said Colorado. We don’t have any snow back there,” recalled Klim, president of the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association. “I thought oh boy, if Colorado […]
Posted inColoradans, News, Outdoors
Snowmobiler killed in avalanche near Colorado’s Rollins Pass was pinned beneath sled
The father and son had throttled their snowmobiles up the steep, east-facing slope below Mount Epworth several times that Sunday afternoon. Dad — 58-year-old Michael “Tony” Westall — went for a final charge up the hill. But instead of turning his machine around the high-point of his arc, he kept going across the hill. His […]
Posted inNews
Snowmobiler missing after avalanche in Jackson County
A search is underway for a missing snowmobiler following an avalanche near Ruby Mountain in northern Colorado. The slide happened Tuesday afternoon on a northeast-facing slope at an elevation of about 11,100 feet, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. Members of the missing rider’s group called authorities after the slide, and Jackson County Search […]
Posted inOutdoors
As Colorado backcountry use soars, Vail Pass’ fee model could be a way to manage the crush
VAIL PASS — Four women on backcountry skis, packs strapped to their backs, glided single file down a powdery path out of the woods after a night at Walter’s Cabin, a hut on Shrine Mountain. Their peaceful trek into the backcountry of Vail Pass this week included pausing to scope out tracks left by a […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Outdoors, Outsider
Are Colorado’s backcountry skiing stashes “trade secrets”? A snowcat outfitter suing a former guide claims they are.
Stephen Bass approached Andy Sovick last year with a plan for writing a guide to snowmobile-access skiing around one of the most popular backcountry destinations in Colorado: Buffalo Pass near Steamboat Springs. Bass, a ski patroller at Utah’s Powder Mountain ski area and a guide for two seasons with Steamboat Powdercats, said the book would […]