Avalanche in Flattop Mountains, Colorado

Avalanche February 1, 2008 · Flattop Mountains, Colorado

Death

$1K

Damage as recorded

What the National Weather Service wrote

Three snowmobilers were coming down Little Box Canyon on a groomed trail in the southwestern Flat Tops north of the town of Rifle. The first two riders noticed that the third was no longer behind them.

The pair turned around and headed up the canyon and found a fresh avalanche that had buried the third snowmobiler. Rescuers retrieved the victim's body about three hours after the avalanche occurred. The avalanche ran 300 feet down the steep slope and was 1.5 to 3 feet deep and 600 feet wide.

The wider storm

A heavy and unstable snowpack produced an avalanche onto a snowmobile trail.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 116742. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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