Snowboarder buried, killed in avalanche on Mines Peak on Berthoud Pass

A backcountry snowboarder was caught, buried and killed in an avalanche Saturday, Feb. 22, on Mines Peak east of Berthoud Pass, according to a preliminary report from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

The Grand County Communications center received a report of the avalanche at about 4:45 p.m. Saturday, according to a news release from the Grand County Sheriff’s Office.

The large, persistent-slab avalanche broke at the ground across multiple terrain features, according to the avalanche center’s report. The area, also known as The Fingers or High Trail Cliffs, is made up of a set of steep, rocky, northwest-facing avalanche paths accessible from the parking area at the summit of Berthoud Pass.

Also Saturday, a group of four snowmobilers were caught in an avalanche north of Granby on Gravel Mountain. The snowmobilers were partially buried but were able to self-rescue, a Colorado Avalanche Information Center report states.

The avalanche center continues to warn backcountry travelers of ongoing, heightened avalanche danger.

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“Since Valentine’s Day, we have documented 470 avalanches on every aspect and elevation,” the agency stated in a social media post Saturday.

The center’s avalanche forecast indicates “considerable danger,” three out of five on the danger scale, in much of the High Country, including Grand County, into Sunday and Monday.

February is historically the deadliest month for avalanches in Colorado, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

Multiple agencies responded to both avalanche calls Saturday, including Grand County Search and Rescue, the Colorado Rapid Avalanche Deployment Team, Flight for Life Colorado and others.

Avalanche forecasters are set to visit the Berthoud Pass accident site Sunday, Feb. 23, to further investigate.

This story is from SkyHiNews.com