Colorado’s Avalanche Information Center says a lone skier triggered the avalanche that buried and killed him in southern Colorado’s San Juan Mountains earlier this month.
The agency wrote in a Jan. 16 report that the victim was found by his wife, who contacted the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office after he failed to check in with her.
She then drove to Red Mountain Pass and snowshoed to the slope where the avalanche took place. The woman located her husband’s body using a transceiver and avalanche probe, digging his remains out of the debris with the help of other backcountry skiers and members of Ouray Mountain Rescue Team.
The CAIC wrote in its report that it was unable to speak to anyone who observed the Jan. 7 slide or the events that led up to it. However, investigators said an unusually snowy November followed by a mild and dry December created a fragile snowpack that was covered by a layer of powder at the time of the disaster.
The agency said the skier who died was descending at the time of the slide and wore an avalanche airbag backpack, which was armed and functional but did not deploy. Spokesperson Kelsy Been later confirmed that the man was suspected of triggering the avalanche.
The risk of avalanches was said to be moderate at the time — the third-highest risk category of five defined by the CAIC.
Solo backcountry travelers were said to account for six of the 33 avalanche deaths recorded in Colorado between Oct. 1, 2020, and Jan. 7, 2025, and at least one solo traveler has died in each of the past five avalanche seasons.
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