Winter storms and avalanches are running amok lately and sadly, Colorado is no exception. The state experienced an avalanche 400 feet wide and buried two snowshoers, killing them.
ABC News reports the avalanche killed two people snowshoeing in the Colorado mountains. Though authorities recovered their bodies on Sunday afternoon, they did not immediately release the names. Specifically, they found the duo at foot level of North Star Mountain, which lies about 90 miles west of Denver. The Summit County Rescue Group conducted the search and said a search dog located them buried in the snow.
Officials state the two people and their dog were reported missing on Saturday when they didn’t come back from their outing. Summit County Sheriff’s deputies and nearly 33 volunteer Summit County Rescue group members launched a search for them. This came after finding their car in a parking lot of a popular hiking spot in the area. A helicopter crew spotted faint tracks near North Star Mountain where an avalanche occurred and sent out two avalanche dog search teams.
The Summit County Rescue Group released a statement after finding their remains. “An avalanche rescue dog located both snowshoers and their dog, all of whom were completely buried by avalanche debris. All were deceased.” Further, they stated plans to send more search teams out yesterday to scour the area.
Preliminary reports state the avalanche measured 400 feet wide and it slid 250 vertical feet down the mountain. In the last month alone eight people lost their lives to avalanches in the United States. Before venturing out into the snow, it’s advised to not go alone and to check the weather beforehand.
Snowmobiler Digs Friend Out of Wyoming Avalanche and Records the Whole Thing
Even taking the mentioned preparations into account, avalanches can be unpredictable and instantaneous. While snowmobiling in Wyoming, an avalanche occurred and buried someone as his friend watched in the distance. Wasting no time, he rushed to the rescue and dug him out, all while recording the incident.
Daily Mail obtained the video footage, showing Jason Rubio springing to action to save his friend John Sievers when the snow buried him. After finding him almost completely submerged in the snow, he hurriedly begins digging him out. In the recording, you can hear Sievers audibly gasping for air, meaning Rubio made it just in the nick of time.
Sievers himself posted about the incident to his Facebook account and noted the details. According to him, his avalanche bag failed to deploy. Said bag inflates after you pull the cord and if under snow, drags the user to the surface. Not attaching the trigger cable correctly, he urges in the post to make sure you install everything properly and to learn from his (nearly fatal) mistake.
