Additional details have been released by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center related to a fatal avalanche that took place in Maroon Bowl, north of Highland Peak in the Aspen area, earlier this month.

On March 19, a sidecountry rider that had exited Aspen Highlands through a backcountry gate was caught and killed in a slide that took place at 11,650 feet, with the avalanche breaking at about six feet deep, 1,000 feet wide and running 1,500 vertical feet.

At the time of the tragic accident, the skier was visiting the Aspen area with two friends that he had skied with in the backcountry for many years. His friends were present during the slide. All three carried avalanche safety equipment and had taken numerous European avalanche safety courses.

On the day prior to the fatal avalanche, the three skied in-bounds at Aspen Highlands during the morning before venturing into the backcountry via an access gate in the afternoon. After digging through several feet of snowpack, they found no weak layers and skied down an area called the Green Wood Glades before climbing up an area called N5 and skiing down that to Maroon Creek without issue.

The following day, the group did the same thing – in-bounds skiing in the morning and backcountry skiing in the afternoon. After a night of no new snow and cold temperatures, they assumed conditions would be safe on the morning of the slide.

The skier that ultimately died in the avalanche noted that he was tired and requested that the group take one run all the way down to the creek opposed to the two runs they had taken the day prior. The decision was made to hike past the run they had taken on March 18, making a slightly longer run all the way to Maroon Creek.

The made their way to an area known as N7 at about 12:15 PM and left the ski area. After regrouping on top of a rock band, one skier descended past the band, stopping beneath it to watch the other two descend.

As the skier that would die started to ski through the rock band, he fell and started to slide, releasing a small amount of snow. He deployed his avalanche airbag as the large avalanche broke, sweeping him out of sight.

The avalanche fracture line came within a few feet of the other two skiers, with officials later stating that they were extremely lucky to have survived.

Immediately, the two skiers not caught in the slide coordinated rescue efforts, with one skier climbing back to the ridge line to get help from ski patrol while the other started a search for the missing skier’s transceiver.

Within minutes, the skier searching for the transceiver had detected a signal and located part of the missing skier’s upper body visible in the avalanche debris.

About five minutes after the slide, the skier that was swept away had the snow cleared from his face and airway, though he was not breathing and there was no pulse.

After clearing more space around the buried skier’s torso, the other skier on the scene started to perform CPR. He performed CPR for more than an hour while waiting for rescue to arrive. He was eventually told by emergency crews contacted via call phone to concentrate his efforts on digging the buried skier free.

At about 4:36 PM, a helicopter from the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control arrived with rescuers from Mountain Rescue Aspen. The buried skier was extracted from the debris and loaded onto the helicopter with the skier that had been with him. The skier hit by the avalanche would be declared deceased.

All parties were out of the field by 5:00 PM.

The Colorado Avalanche Information Center offered condolences to those impacted by this avalanche death, also noting that their reason for sharing details about the tragic situation is in hopes of preventing another similar situation from happening in the future.

CAIC experts pointed out multiple factors that were noteworthy about this incident.

While the group dug several feet into the snowpack to assess conditions, they did not dig to the ground, which would have revealed a weak lower later of snow.

The group also observed an avalanche that took place about a week prior in the same area, which left dangerous unsupported slabs. They were unaware they were skiing onto these slabs.

According to the CAIC, the positive experience from the previous day in a nearby area boosted the group’s confidence on the second day, despite conditions between the two areas being different.

The CAIC also noted that the rapid response by the party was impressive, with the skier that stayed on scene clearing the airway of the buried skier within five minutes. In many cases, rapid clearing of the airway is key to survival.

This case also demonstrates the risk the comes with so-called ‘sidecountry’ terrain. This is backcountry terrain that can be access via a road or ski lift. While it’s easier to get to, it still carries all of the risk that’s typical of backcountry terrain.

If you’re interested in supporting Colorado’s volunteer-powered search and rescue operation, one way to do so is through the purchase of a CORSAR card. It’s cheap, at only $3 per year.

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