CAIC

Avalanche Details

Location: Upper Senator Beck Basin, northwest of Red Mountain Pass
State: Colorado
Date: 2019/01/05
Time: 12:00 AM (Estimated)
Summary Description: 6 backcountry skiers caught, 1 buried and killed
Primary Activity: Backcountry Tourer
Primary Travel Mode: Ski

Number

Caught: 5
Fully Buried: 0
Injured: 0
Killed: 1

Avalanche

Type: HS
Trigger: AS - Skier
Trigger (subcode): u - An unintentional release
Size - Relative to Path: R2
Size - Destructive Force: D2
Sliding Surface: O - Within Old Snow

Site

Slope Aspect: S
Site Elevation: 13000 ft
Slope Angle: --
Slope Characteristic: Planar Slope

Accident Summary

PRELIMINARY REPORT: A group of backcountry 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 2.5 m of snow. They tried to revive him on site, but were unsuccessful. The rest of the group made their way to US 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.

Media

Images

<b>Figure 1:</b> Avalanche accident site. There are two avalanches in the image. The one on the right was triggered by the group as they descended the slope. The one on the left released sympathetically. Debris from the second avalanche overran the debris pile from the first. (<a href=javascript:void(0); onClick=win=window.open('https://caic-production.imgix.net/hgxrtfdztyy8v3i0641qngvvijf0?ixlib=php-3.1.0&s=5a226b410d1b2d9597f718df6191a01d','caic_media','resizable=1,height=820,width=840,scrollbars=yes');win.focus();return false;>see full sized image</a>)

<b>Figure 2:</b> The red lines mark the crown face of the two avalanches. The group of skiers triggered the avalanche on the right and the avalanche on the left release sympathetically. (<a href=javascript:void(0); onClick=win=window.open('https://caic-production.imgix.net/br3k734tdcoj9mp0e9ggv990yg5l?ixlib=php-3.1.0&s=3663086cb0a122be853035d789fd806e','caic_media','resizable=1,height=820,width=840,scrollbars=yes');win.focus();return false;>see full sized image</a>)