A group of snowmobilers triggered an avalanche in Jackson County on Tuesday. Two of the six members were caught in the slide, one was killed.
Around 3 p.m. Tuesday, a large avalanche near Ruby Mountain southeast of Rand took one man’s life.
“The accident occurred near treeline on a northeast-facing slope at around 11,400 feet,” The Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) reported. “The avalanche broke on a weak layer about three feet below the surface and stepped down to deeper buried weak layers near the ground in some places. It was approximately three-quarters of a mile wide and ran about 400 vertical feet.”
The rider was swept downhill and buried about two feet deep in snow. Despite efforts from the group of riders and search and rescue, he was not located on Tuesday. On Wednesday morning, an avalanche search dog alerted rescuers to his location with his body recovered in the afternoon.
The rider was not wearing an avalanche transceiver.
Two people died in separate Colorado avalanches last Sunday. Volatile conditions have now killed 11 people in Colorado this season, as the country is seeing once in a decade avalanche danger. Gov. Jared Polis stressed the extreme danger last week.
“Please stick to slopes less than 30 degrees and avoid traveling under steeper slopes,” the CAIC said. “Places you’ve traveled in previous years may not be safe today or the rest of the winter.”