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Avalanche Buries Colorado Skier Up To His Neck

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Nov 2, 2009 6:28 pm US/Mountain

Avalanche Buries Colorado Skier Up To His Neck

Reporting
Stan Bush
LEADVILLE, Colo. (AP/CBS4) ― A teenage skier was buried up to his neck but survived a weekend avalanche near Copper Mountain.

The Eagle County resident was skiing with two friends Saturday on the northeast side of Bartlett Peak between Copper Mountain and Leadville. His friends said he made five or six turns before an avalanche broke about 50 feet above him. He was buried up to his neck, but his friends dug him out and called for rescue.

The Summit County Rescue Group said the slide was about 500 feet long. The unnamed skier was hospitalized with a broken leg he probably got while being dragged along the rocky terrain.

Rescuers said the victim's friends were well-trained in avalanche preparedness.

"He was buried up to his neck with his right arm out. They quickly assessed him and realized he was injured and that they would need help getting him out," Kevin Kelble with Saint Anthony's Flight For Life said.

The teens hiked nearly 4 or 5 miles and about 13,000 feet high on Bartlett Peak. After the avalanche, one of the teens hiked back up towards the summit to get cell phone service and call for help.

"Maybe there was a little bit of complacency in there not recognizing the fact it doesn't matter if it's your first trip back there or your 50th trip back there, the danger still exists," Kelble.

Rescue groups are warning backcountry skiers to be prepared for avalanches. Already this season slides have been reported in Rocky Mountain National Park and on Independence, Loveland and Jones passes.

"These men were so lucky. The stars just aligned on them," Anna DeBattiste with Summit County Search & Rescue said.

Flight For Life was the only option to get the victim out. DeBattiste said it would have taken several hours to get to the skiers on the ground.

At least five of the avalanches in October involved people getting stuck, but no one was hurt badly in those, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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