A backcountry snowboarder killed in an avalanche in the San Juan Mountains on Monday marks of the season.
Dr. Peter Harrelson, 67, was caught in an avalanche in Waterfall Creek near the , which is 12 miles south of Telluride in San Miguel County, Harrelson was a long-time resident of Ophir.
Harrelson’s friends reported him overdue on Monday night and followed his tracks but were unable to find him,
San Miguel County sheriff’s deputies and search and rescue crews began searching for Harrelson on Monday night and continued Tuesday morning, using air resources and bombing mitigation to insert a rescue team to find him.
Harrelson’s body was found by rescuers early Tuesday morning with traumatic injuries from an avalanche, according to the sheriff’s office.
The avalanche occurred on the northwest aspect of the mountain below the treeline, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
Most of Colorado’s mountains are currently , according to the center, which means natural avalanches are possible and human-triggered avalanches are likely.
Backcountry skiers and snowboarders should avoid slopes steeper than 30 degrees, where humans can “easily trigger large, deadly avalanches” from a distance and from below, .
Four skiers were caught in an avalanche on Marble Peak in Gunnison County in November, injuring one.
