Ski patrol Director for Wolf Creek dies in an avalanche
Wolf Creek Ski Area’s veteran
Wolf Creek refunded tickets and closed for the day by 10 a.m. The mountain will open at 8:30 a.m. today.
Mike Collins was one of the first skiers on Wolf Creek’s Treasure Chair early Monday, joining an eager few ready to sample the previous night’s 13-inch snowfall. On the way up, the Leadville skier noticed a conspicuously bare slope to the left, with rocks and dirt showing through the otherwise heavy snowpack.
He said much of the snow on his descent was sliding around him.
“I was prepared for the worst, and it was pretty sketchy,” Collins said.
By the time Collins reached the bottom, a helicopter was circling near the top of the Treasure Chair.
“Everybody was waiting in the lodge, and it was pretty somber in there,” Collins said. “What a horrible way to start the season.”
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center early Monday issued an avalanche warning for the southern San Juan Mountains. Citing high winds and heavy snow, the center urged backcountry travelers to avoid steep slopes.
The Sunday storm buried the state’s high country, and avalanche forecasters at the center warned of high avalanche danger across much of the state’s northern, central and southern mountains.
Kay joins an elite group of
In the past 52 years, 22 American ski patrollers have died in the line of duty, according to the National Ski Patrol. Five were patrolling Colorado slopes; before Monday, the most recent patroller death in Colorado was in 1984.
A representative with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said the group likely would investigate the accident.
Loading ...
