1 killed in avalanche near Colorado's Berthoud Pass - CBS Colorado
/ CBS Colorado
One person was killed Saturday when a skier triggered an avalanche in Colorado, the Grand County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
Few details were immediately available but a sheriff's office spokesperson said the avalanche was triggered around 4:45 p.m. in the "Fingers Area" on Berthoud Pass near Winter Park.
"A rider was caught, buried, and killed in an avalanche on Mines Peak, east of Berthoud Pass, in an area locally known as The Fingers or High Trail Cliffs. The Fingers are a set of steep, rocky, northwest-facing avalanche paths that are easily accessed from the parking area at the summit of Berthoud Pass," the Colorado Avalanche Information Center said in a Facebook post. "This was a large, Persistent Slab avalanche that broke at the ground across multiple terrain features."
Several agencies were still actively responding to that avalanche around 6:30 p.m., including the sheriff's office, Grand County Emergency Medical Serves, Grand County Search and Rescue, a Flight for Life Colorado unit, and the Colorado Rapid Avalanche Deployment Team.
"Our deepest condolences go out to the friends and family of the victim and everyone involved in the rescue," the CAIC said.
The person who was killed will be identified at a later time by the Grand County Coroner's Office.
This was the second avalanche in Grand County on Saturday that triggered an emergency response, according to the sheriff's office.
Around 2:30 p.m., an avalanche on Gravel Mountain was triggered by what the sheriff's office believes was a snowmobile operator.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center posted video of that avalanche on Facebook.
Here is video of the avalanche today on Gravel Mountain. More information in our feed.
Posted by Colorado Avalanche Information Center - CAIC on Saturday, February 22, 2025
Three or four people were caught in that avalanche but self-rescued or were helped by people nearby and were uninjured, according to the sheriff's office, which "encourages anyone recreating in our backcountry to always carry the essential equipment and follow the Colorado Avalanche Information Center - CAIC by searching for a location or dropping a pin on the map."
You can do that at avalanche.state.co.us.
Austen Erblat is a digital producer and assignment editor at CBS News Colorado and is Covering Colorado First. Originally from South Florida, he's been working as a journalist in Denver since 2022.
