Slide Kills Skier in Vail Backcountry

By Bob Berwyn, 1-04-08

	Caption: Steady snowfall and high winds in Colorado have built brittle windslabs that can release as dangerous avalanches, breaking away from the surrounding snow as shown in this file photo of an avalanche fracture line. Photo by Bob Berwyn.

A Jan. 4 slab avalanche in the steep, slide-prone East Vail chutes killed a 27-year old man, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) reported.  According to a preliminary report from the CAIC, the avalanche ran on an east to east-north-east aspect at treeline. Three skiers were skiing the popular backcountry area near Vail, and all were equipped with avalanche search and rescue gear. The slide carried the skier over a cliff band and into a stand of trees. The other two members of the party quickly found the victim but needed the help of a rescue team to evacuate the victim.

The CAIC has been reporting frequent avalanches, both triggered and natural releases in the area for the past few weeks. On the day of the slide, the avalanche hazard in the Vail/Summit County zone was rated as moderate on all aspects near treeline, with a “complex and potentially tender” snowpack. Steady snows and strong winds loaded avalanche starting zones and built brittle wind slabs in the area.

It was the second avalanche death of the season in Colorado. The first death occurred Dec. 2 in the vicinity of Cameron Pass, west of Fort Collins. A snowboarder was caught and buried, and rescued by his companions, but died of injuries suffered in the slide, according to the CAIC report.

In both accidents, the backcountry travelers were well-equipped with avalanche search and rescue gear. Beacons, shovels and probes are great for recovering buried bodies, but the lesson could be that finding an avalanche victim quickly doesn’t always help if they suffered traumatic injuries in the turmoil of cascading snow, or if they are suffocated by the slide.

The Denver Post reported that the victim of Friday’s slide was Jesse Brigham, who worked at a luxury hotel run by Vail Resorts’ hotel management company, RockResorts. According to the Post, the Eagle County coroner determined that the cause of death was asphyxiation.

According to a recent Associated Press story published in the Aspen Times, 14 people have died in snow slides across the country, including eight in Washington. Five snowmobilers were caught in a Jan. 1 slide in the Excelsior Pass area, north of Mount Baker. Two were killed and one was injured.