Missing Telluride Skier Found Dead
The skier was caught in an avalanche Tuesday.
A Telluride man was reported missing at 4:20 PM on Tuesday. Deputies from local sheriff's offices, search and rescue personnel, and the Telluride ski patrol began to search for the missing man. Today he was found buried by an avalanche.
On Tuesday morning, between 10 and 11 AM, an avalanche was reported in the Tempter area of Bear Creek. It's a and narrow gully just off the Telluride Ski Resort. The avalanche was believed to have been caused by snowboarders riding out of the ski area. The slide was reportedly about 75 feet wide and left a 300 foot-long debris field.
Several Telluride ski lifts and the Bear Creek Trail were closed and the trail shut down so rescuers could search the area. The local sheriff’s office reports that lifts 14, 6 and 9 at Telluride were closed for most of the day today but will likely reopen now that the missing man has been found. The 47-year-old man was back-country skiing below where the avalanche came down.
This is yet another incident it what has proved to be one of the more deadly ski seasons in recent history. This is the 14th skier/snowboarder death in Colorado. The state is currently on pace to set a record for the most persons killed or injured in a single ski season.
Credit: The Denver Channel