Man caught in avalanche on Berthoud Pass dug himself out of debris with dislocated shoulder

A solo backcountry skier who was injured in a slide Dec. 3 had planned to avoid avalanche terrain, but he deviated from his plan to make a couple of turns into the top of an avalanche path to “check the snow conditions,” according to the final report of the incident released Monday by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

The slide, which took place in an avalanche path known as Mines 2 on Mines Peak east of Berthoud Pass, swept the skier about 400 feet through small trees. When the debris stopped, his arms were out of the snow, but his face and head were buried about 6 inches deep. Despite suffering a dislocated shoulder, he was able to dig himself out of the debris and call 911 on his cellphone.

On the day of the slide, the avalanche center’s forecast for the Berthoud Pass area was rated considerable (Level 3 of 5) near and above tree line. The skier triggered the hard-slab avalanche at tree line, according to the report.

Natural avalanches had been taking place in the area prior to the avalanche that caught the backcountry skier, including a slide in the nearby Mines 1 path, according to the center.

During an interview with the avalanche center, the skier said he didn’t notice the natural slide nearby, which might have prompted him to stay on his planned route, acknowledging he “didn’t have a stop-and-think moment soon enough.”

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The slide was a symptom of the state’s persistent slab problem, caused by October storms that left behind a weak layer of snow followed by early-November storms that added stiff, wind-drifted layers on top.

The skier had not read the avalanche forecast on the day of the accident, saying he planned to ascend and descend only the low-angle, heavily trafficked west-facing slopes, which he did on his first run. On his second run, he decided to go a little further toward the north face of Mines Peak, according to the report. He stopped about 600 feet below the summit on the ridge dividing the west- and north-facing slopes to remove his skins.

The skier initially descended along the ridgeline above Mines 2. He said he did not intend to ski the slide path but made “one or two” turns, according to the report. He saw a large crack shoot out in front of him and an avalanche break above him. He took a hard left turn and skied off the moving snow, but another wave of snow hit him from above and carried him down the slope.

The avalanche dragged him under and he lost both skis, the report stated.

The avalanche was about 2 feet deep — breaking to the ground in places — more than 600 feet wide, and ran 800 vertical feet, piling debris over 6 feet deep, according to the report

After digging himself out, he hiked downhill toward U.S. Highway 40, where he met up with Grand County Search and Rescue about 1 1/2 hours after the avalanche. He was then taken by ambulance to receive emergency care.

This story is from SkyHiNews.com.