An injured backcountry skier was rescued Tuesday after being caught in an avalanche near Berthoud Pass, the Grand County Sheriff’s Office said.
Search and rescue crews responded to the avalanche at 3:17 p.m. after the skier was caught in the slide. They were able to get out of the avalanche debris, but were unable to ski out of the woods because of their injuries, sheriff’s officials said.
Emergency services found the skier using their phone’s GPS coordinates and treated him for multiple injuries, including mild hypothermia, before evacuating him using a rescue slide and rope system.
He said the skier caused the avalanche near the tree line on Mines Peak an accident report from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. Photos from the slide show a natural avalanche occurred in the same area on Sunday, officials said.
Most of Colorado’s mountains are located on moderate risk of avalancheswith the greatest risk on wind-drifted slopes under mountain ridges, according to the center’s forecasts.
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