Father Searches in Vain for Son as Pair Caught in US Avalanche
2nd January 2023
The son was found dead after two hours. There have been further avalanche fatalities as heavy snow continues to fall. Caution is being urged by the authorities. UPDATED
The tragedy happened near Breckenridge in Colorado at 1pm on New Year’s Eve.
The two were skiing in the sidecountry when they were hit by an avalanche – the father was partially buried and his son totally buried.
He tried to find his son and then called in the rescue services.
His son’s body was found by an avalanche dog two hours after the accident.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
More than 20 people helped in the search operation.
The accident happened on a south-east facing slope at almost 4,000m.
Image c/o Summit County Sheriff’s Office
See further details from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center report released Sunday.
The avalanche struck outside the Breckenridge Ski Resort when the men went skiing through a backcountry area called The Numbers.
It is outside the Breckenridge Ski Resort boundary on Peak 10.
It is a common area for people to leave the ski area and head into the backcountry.
“Our deepest condolences to all those affected by this tragedy,” said the Summit County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Unit.
Experts from the Colorado Avalanche Information Centre visited the accident site on Sunday, January 1st, and will publish a final report in the next week.
The deputy director of CAIC is interviewed in this video:
There have been three avalanche fatalities in the US this season, two in Colorado and one in Montana.
The first fatality was in Winter Park, Colorado when an avalanche caught two snowboarders near the resort last week.
The victim was a 44-year-old school teacher.
Eyewitnesses were able to dig out one person in time but not the other.
“The second subject, a 44-year-old male, was located and unfortunately, lifesaving measures performed by bystanders were unsuccessful and the male was pronounced dead at the scene,” said a statement from the local police.
In Montana two snowmobilers were out at Daisy Pass north of Cooke City when when one of them triggered a large slide.
It went down 185m and one rider was buried under 1.5m of snow.
Neither was wearing an avalanche beacon.
Another group of people on snowmobiles helped search for the missing rider.
His body was found about an hour later.
We have reported on the heavy snow across the USA and Canada in these earlier article on PlanetSKI:
Steamboat, Colorado. Image c/o PlanetSKI reader, Jenny O’Farrell
The authorities advise extreme caution for any skier or snowboarder heading into the backcountry.
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