SNOWMASS — Avalanche experts say conditions throughout the Colorado backcountry are so “tricky” right now that skiers must beware of “terrain traps,” such as the gully where Keith Ames was killed this week in a slide. Ames was skiing Wednesday just east of the Snowmass Ski Area boundary with two acquaintances, according to the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office.
Colorado Avalanche Information Center forecaster Brian McCall visited the scene of the fatal slide Thursday. McCall said his preliminary information indicates Ames was the third skier down the steep gully. He was caught in a slide that was 50 to 60 feet long and 20 feet wide, McCall said.
The other skiers were “a few hundred feet” lower on the slope when the slide occurred, McCall said. They hiked up to dig out Ames, who was declared dead at the scene.
