Vail & Summit County

Avalanche

On 1/25 at approximately 10:30am a small avalanche was reported in the backcountry, near the Beaver Creek Ski Area boundary in an area known as the Y chutes. The reporting party was also the victim. According to the report he described himself as being face down in/near a tree well, with his snowboard/feet above him and he was unable to dislodge himself. He stated that he started a small avalanche and it carried him to this position. He was buried from his chest up and was apparently able to create some space around his face and head. He was alone and without equipment. He was able to access his phone, which was in his chest pocket, and called rescuers. The rescue party instructed him to remain calm and that they were responding to assist. The rescue team was able to instruct the victim on how to send them his GPS coordinates via his smart phone, which allowed them to determine his location. Before the rescuers reached the victim, the reporting party called back and said a group of skiers/riders discovered him and freed him of his position. The victim stated that he was skiing a line that he skis often. When he descended in to a small clearing, the area broke around him and it began to carry him down the slope. He stated that he was able to "surf" most of it until he contacted a small tree or something that pitched him forward resulting in him being somewhat upside down/face down and unable to free himself. He described the slide being relatively small, approximately 30 yards wide and 100 yards long.