Avalanche — West Elk and Sawatch Mountains, Colorado
2008-12-17 · West Elk and Sawatch Mountains, Colorado
1
Direct deaths
Event narrative
Sometime during the afternoon, a 36 year old male snowboarder was caught and killed in an avalanche approximately 2 miles northwest of Crested Butte. The soft slab avalanche occurred in an area known as Happy Chutes. The avalanche ran about 1,500 vertical feet, carrying the victim through a dense grove of trees, over a 20 to 30 foot cliff, then down a tight gully and finally to a stand of small trees. The victim was found about a week later under 3 to 4 feet of snow.
Wider weather episode
A snowboarder was killed by an avalanche.
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 146882. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.