At least three people were killed in recent avalanches in southern Colorado officials said Monday, as they announced that the body of a missing snowmobiler had been found earlier that day.
The snowmobiler, who has yet to be identified, was found on Monday after being “buried and killed in an avalanche” near Wolf Creek Pass, a high mountain pass in Mineral County, over the weekend, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center said in a Facebook post.
The snowmobiler was one of three people to have died due to avalanches “triggered by people recreating” on Saturday, the avalanche center said.
Two backcountry skiers were also “caught, buried and killed” in a separate avalanche near the Vallecito Reservoir, about 80 miles west of Wolf Creek Pass, officials had previously said on Sunday. The skiers have yet to be identified.
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At the time, officials had said a search and rescue effort was underway for the then-missing snowmobiler.
The danger level for the risk of avalanches had been “high” earlier last week, but had decreased to “considerable” by Saturday, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center said.
Yet, that day the center said it recorded six avalanches, “three triggered by people,” resulting in the deaths of the snowmobiler and two skiers.
On Sunday, a snowmobile-triggered avalanche in the La Plata Mountains also left a rider “fully buried,” it said. But, “thankfully a skilled companion rescue response successfully recovered their partner,” it said.
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The center warned on Monday that the avalanche danger level was expected to rise on Tuesday and become “more widespread,” encompassing most mountains by Wednesday and Thursday.
“Please read the forecast, including the summary where we describe the most dangerous slopes and travel advice,” it said. “Remember, Moderate avalanche danger does not mean safe.”
The La Plata County Search and Rescue warned in a Facebook post that avalanche incidents in the area were “ticking up.” According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, Monday’s discovery of the snowmobiler found dead marked the seventh avalanche death in Colorado for the 2022-2023 season.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
