An injured backcountry skier was rescued after getting caught in an avalanche Tuesday near Berthoud Pass, the Grand County Sheriff’s Office said.
Search and rescue crews responded to the avalanche at 3:17 p.m. after the skier was caught in the slide. They were able to get out of the avalanche debris but couldn’t ski out of the forest because of their injuries, sheriff’s officials said.
Emergency crews found the skier using GPS coordinates from their phone and treated them for multiple injuries, including mild hypothermia, before evacuating them using a rescue toboggan and rope system.
The skier triggered the avalanche at the tree line on Mines Peak, according to an accident report from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. Photos of the slide show a natural avalanche occurred in the same area on Sunday, officials said.
Most of Colorado’s mountains are at moderate risk for avalanches, with the highest risk on wind-drifted slopes below mountain ridges, according to center forecasts.
A skier was caught, partially buried and injured after triggering an avalanche on Mines Peak near Berthoud Pass on Dec. 3, 2024, according to the Grand County Sheriff’s Office and state officials. (Courtesy of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center)