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The Dexes / Avalanche / 1233071

Eventdex · Avalanche

NORTHWESTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS

1233071

The record

Everything the slot carries, as measured. Series arrays are drawn above and listed here in full.

event_typeAvalanche
ncei_event_id1,233,071
episode_id199,403
begin_utc2025-01-07T17:00:00+00:00
end_utc2025-01-08T04:00:00+00:00
stateCOLORADO
cz_typeZ
cz_nameNORTHWESTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS
deaths_direct1
deaths_indirect0
injuries_direct0
injuries_indirect0
damage_property0.00K
damage_crops0.00K
wfo_sourceState Official
episode_narrativeA dry and mild December led to the weakening of the snowpack started in November. On top of this now weak snowpack, in the early days of January, a fresh additional 24 inches of snow fell, weakening the snowpack further. This set the stage for potentially injurious or fatal avalanches in the area.
event_narrativeThe Colorado Avalanche Information Center provided all the information regarding this fatal avalanche accident. The incident occurred in the Northwest San Juan Mountains, on the slopes of Red Mountain #3. The snowpack in this location was known to be weak, and the avalanche danger on the day of the accident was rated as Moderate, or 2/5 on a scale where 1 is the least danger and 5 is the most danger. The victim of the accident, referred to as Skier 1 from here on, was travelling alone although they had arranged a check in system with their spouse. After completing several clean runs, Skier 1 triggered an avalanche that caught and buried them under approximately 1 meter of snow, which prevented self-excavation under the circumstances. When Skier 1 became overdue for the scheduled check-in with their spouse, the spouse notified search and rescue teams, and went to search for their spouse on their own. The spouse found Skier 1 buried and, with the help of nearby backcountry skiers and Ouray Mountain Rescue Team, were able to remove Skier 1 from the avalanche debris. However, Skier 1 had been buried for 4 or more hours, and had unfortunately passed away.
year2,025

Provenance

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Storage: spine

NORTHWESTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS — Avalanche — TerraPulse