Avalanche kills snowboarder, hits 3 others on Berthoud Pass Monday
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Colorado Avalanche Information Center/Courtesy photo
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center posted on Facebook late Monday that a snowboarder triggered and died in an avalanche on Berthoud Pass. The slide was on a slope near where another snowboarder triggered an avalanche around the same time.
A news release from the Grand County Sheriff’s Office read that the department, along with Grand County EMS, Grand County Search and Rescue, Alpine Search and Rescue, East Grand Fire Department, Flight For Life and the avalanche information center responded to the incident around 12:50 p.m.
The slide happened on the west side of Berthoud Pass in unincorporated Grand County near the town of Winter Park. Four people were caught in the avalanche and two were buried, but bystanders and family members rescued one of the buried people. A 44-year old male who remained buried was pronounced dead at the scene.
The county coroner’s office is in contact with the decedent’s family and will release their identity and cause of death when appropriate.
The center’s post read that conditions will be similar in the northern and central mountains Tuesday and that backcountry visitors can trigger slides on wind-loaded slopes steeper than 30 degrees.
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