Avalanche in West Elk and Sawatch Mountains, Colorado

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.

A snowboarder was killed by an avalanche.