Avalanche — Northwestern San Juan Mountains, Colorado

2019-01-05 · Northwestern San Juan Mountains, Colorado

Event narrative

A group of back country skiers participating in an avalanche safety course triggered an avalanche on the afternoon of January 5. All six members of the group were caught in the avalanche. The avalanche released a second avalanche sympathetically. The second avalanche ran over the debris pile of the first slide. One member of the group was buried in the debris of the two avalanches. The rest of the group located him and extricated him from under at least 8 feet of snow. They tried to revive him on site, but were unsuccessful. The rest of the group made their way to Highway 550 with the help of San Juan County Search and Rescue, Ouray Mountain Rescue, La Plata County Search and Rescue, Careflight, and the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

Wider weather episode

An unstable snow pack in the San Juan Mountains and a group of back country skiers triggered an avalanche in the Upper Senator Beck Basin, northwest of Red Mountain Pass in southwest Colorado.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 792214. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.