Backcountry skier found dead as a result of Colorado avalanche

DENVER — Crews on Monday recovered the body of a missing backcountry skier who apparently died in an avalanche in southwestern Colorado as the danger level remained elevated following heavy snow over the weekend.

Teams working with avalanche dogs found the man’s body in a slide believed to have occurred Sunday in the Matterhorn area near Telluride, the San Miguel Sheriff’s Office said. Because the risk of avalanches was high, crews had to wait for helicopters to drop explosives to trigger slides and reduce the danger of natural slides before ground crews could go in to search for the man, who was reported missing after failing to return home, sheriff’s office spokeswoman Susan Lilly said.

On Sunday, another avalanche dumped snow across a section of Interstate 70, a highway that connects the Denver area to ski resorts, between Frisco and Copper Mountain. No injuries were reported.

Caught on camera: @KDVR viewer captured this video of an #avalanche near I-70 today in Ten Mile Canyon between Frisco and Copper Mountain. #CoWX #KDVR pic.twitter.com/eL6uIwB4c3

— Jeremy Hubbard (@JeremyHubbard) March 3, 2019

Video captured by Jacob Easton shows a cloud of snow coming down the mountain on the opposite side of the highway before sliding across both sides of the interstate. It shows snow covering a pickup ahead of his vehicle before the snow sweeps down to his vehicle, completely covering the windshield. His vehicle was not trapped.

Does your heart race watching this video? A family was driving on I-70 when an #avalanche came barreling down the mountain & across the highway, hitting their pickup and pushing it across the road. Luckily, nobody was hurt. (Video courtesy of Shaune Golemon) pic.twitter.com/xvIx04VbCc

— Denver7 News (@DenverChannel) March 4, 2019

According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, up to 3 to 4 feet of snow fell in some parts of the region where the I-70 avalanche happened. While the slide danger caused by all the new snow likely peaked on Sunday, it said the danger was still high — just below the top rating of extreme — in the Front Range, Vail and Summit County, Aspen, Grand Mesa, Gunnison and Sawatch regions.

Avalanches on well-traveled roads in Colorado are rare. When the slide danger is high, roads are often closed so crews can trigger avalanches at places prone to slides.