5 Snowboarders Killed In Colorado Avalanche

Five snowboarders have been killed in an avalanche on Colorado’s Loveland Pass, a local sheriff confirmed Saturday afternoon.

Of six caught in the avalanche, blamed on “weak layers” in Colorado’s snowpack persisting all year, five of the snowboarders died. The condition of the single survivor of the avalanche was not immediately known, nor was it clear whether or not the five killed were identified immediately following the deadly snow slide.

Colorado Avalanche Information Center forecaster Spencer Logan spoke to USA Today about the conditions that caused the incident on Saturday afternoon. Logan explains:

“Our last series of storms made them more active again… Over the last week and a half, that area got over 18 inches of snow, so if you melted that that would be 2 inches of water, so that is a heavy load.”

Clear Creek County Sheriff Don Krueger confirmed that the snowboarders, all of whom were equipped with avalanche beacons, were caught in a drift that was 600 yards wide and eight feet deep.

The sixth and surviving member of the group was able to dig him or herself out and call for help, and rescuers from several nearby teams were able to dig out the five killed in the slide, Krueger confirmed.

According to Krueger, it is likely the five snowboarders killed triggered the avalanche.

Earlier this week, a snowboarder died near the Vail resort due to an avalanche.

Avalanche deaths, like the one that claimed the lives of the five snowboarders killed today, have been on the rise since 1990 in ski-friendly areas like Colorado — experts say advances made in backcountry gear have been a factor in the increase in deaths, of which there are an average of about 24 every year in the US.