2 Skiers Found Dead in Colorado

Seven skiers triggered deadly avalanche, officials say
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 16, 2014 2:16 PM CST
2 Skiers Dead in Colorado Avalanche
   (Shutterstock)

Authorities say two skiers were killed and three others were injured in a large avalanche in Colorado. The Lake County Office of Emergency Management says seven skiers on Star Mountain near Independence Pass triggered the slide at about 5pm yesterday. Three were hospitalized with injuries that included a broken leg, a broken ankle, and a possible broken rib and collapsed lung. The Lake County Sheriff's Office says search and rescue crews found the bodies of two skiers this afternoon. The avalanche happened near Leadville, which is about 80 miles southwest of Denver.

Officials are warning of deadly conditions after avalanches killed six people this week—two each in Oregon, Utah, and Colorado, CNN reports. "We are seeing very dangerous avalanche conditions developing from basically the New Mexico border north to Wyoming," said the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. With the snowpack "teetering on the brink of critical mass," snowslides are burying roads in 20 feet of debris and taking out old mine buildings and trees, the center said. (More avalanche stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X