PAGOSA SPRINGS, Colo. – An avalanche at the Wolf Creek Ski Area killed an employee Monday.

The slide happened at about 7:45 a.m. at a ski area known as one of Colorado’s snowiest. A recorded phone message at the ski area said Wolf Creek would reopen Tuesday.

In a statement, the resort said the victim was director of Wolf Creek’s ski patrol. The resort didn’t name the employee.

The Mineral County Sheriff’s Office helped in the recovery and planned to release more details later Monday.

Wolf Creek reports it has gotten 18 inches of snow in the last 48 hours, with a summit base of 34 inches of snow.

The Wolf Creek avalanche fatality was the first of the season in Colorado, where a third of the nation’s avalanche deaths occur, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

The Center on Monday rated avalanche danger in the Colorado mountains at “high,” meaning avalanches are likely. The Center, a program of the Colorado Geological Society, also warned that another snowstorm expected in the mountains Tuesday night could again create high avalanche danger.