Berthoud Pass – A 33-year-old snowboarder was killed Sunday in a massive avalanche near Berthoud Pass, marking the first fatality of Colorado’s 2005-06 winter season.
The victim was on Colorado Mines Peak, which is east of the summit of Berthoud Pass on U.S. Highway 40, when he was swept up in the avalanche at about 11 a.m. His two companions avoided the slide, estimated to be about 250 meters long by about 150 meters across, and were unharmed.
The victim, who was buried for 90 minutes before being pulled from about 4-feet of snow, was pronounced dead at 1 p.m. He was not wearing an avalanche beacon, considered an essential piece of backcountry gear, which could have sped the effort to locate him.
His name was not released pending notification of family.
The group was traveling in a dangerous area known as “Mines 2.”
“There are two chutes over there, and if you look at them, they’re avalanche chutes and they slide every year,” said Grand County Sheriff Rob Johnson.
“It’s a problem area,” said Scott Buell, one of several skiers and snowboarders who assisted in the recovery. “And this guy apparently decided not to wear his beacon today.”
Dave Elkan, 28 of Denver, who also assisted in the rescue said the slide wiped all the snow out of the chute. “It was just unbelievable,” he said, “It took the guy all the way to the bottom.”
Greg Askin, of Golden, said it was hard to watch as rescuers unsuccessfully tried to revive the man. “It made me want to throw up,” he said, “It’s pretty scary.”
Spencer Logan, a forecaster with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center in Denver, said it’s not unusual to see early-November snowslides in the Colorado backcountry.
“Sometimes these can be the trickiest conditions because everybody is anxious to get out and ski, and the places where there’s enough snow to ski and snowboard are the places where there’s still enough snow to avalanche,” he said. “And people aren’t thinking about the danger. They’re thinking: There’s not enough snow to hurt me.’”
High winds in the Berthoud Pass area on Thursday and Friday created a brittle slab of early-season snow that was covered by heavier snowfall on Saturday, Logan said.
It was at least the fourth avalanche fatality in the Berthoud Pass area in the last 10 years. In January 2000, a 26-year-old snowshoer from Denver was killed in the Jones Pass area. A 25-year-old snowboarder was killed in March of 1998. And, in February of 1995, an avalanche claimed the life of an Arvada snowbiler.
Statewide, five people were killed in avalanches last winter, which was one fewer than average, according to the avalanche information center.
A 53-year-old Boulder man died in May after he was swept into an avalanche on an open, in-bounds run at Arapahoe Basin ski area. He was reportedly the first person killed by an in-bounds avalanche at a Colorado ski area in 30 years. On April 1, a 27-year-old Boulder man was buried and killed in an avalanche on Grand Mesa. Two climbers were caught in an avalanche on Quandary Peak on March 24. One man survived with only minor injuries while his companion was killed. A 32 year-old man participating in an avalanche awareness class was buried and killed March 6 in a sizable avalanche near the Aspen Highlands ski area. And on Jan. 3, a 26-year-old skier was buried and killed by an avalanche on Soda Mountain near Steamboat Springs.
Denver Post staff writer Amy Brouillette contributed to this report.
