Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that the incident occurred in Eagle County.

11:45 a.m., Monday, March 9: The Eagle County Coroner’s Office has confirmed David Pickett-Heaps, of Silverthorne, as the man who died in an avalanche Saturday, March 7, south of Ptarmigan Pass in Eagle County near Vail Pass.

2 p.m. Sunday, March 8: Multiple agencies, including Summit County Rescue Group, Vail Mountain Rescue and Summit and Eagle County Sheriff’s offices responded Saturday night, March 7, after a person was reported missing in the Boss Basin area, an upper portion of Resolution Creek south of Ptarmigan Pass and near Copper Mountain. Rescuers found an avalanche with ski and snowmobile tracks nearby and leading into it, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. At sunrise on Sunday, supported by Flight For Life, responders found the missing person deceased in the avalanche debris. The avalanche occurred in Eagle County, according to a Summit County Sheriff’s Office Facebook post.

Colorado Avalanche Information Center staff visited the site on March 8 and found that the avalanche occurred near tree line on a northeast-facing slope. The avalanche was about 2 feet deep and slope angles in the starting zone ranged from 33-36 degrees. The death marks the first avalanche fatality in Colorado of the 2025-26 winter season.

According to the preliminary report, avalanche information center staff will publish a final report on the incident “as soon as possible.”