3 backcountry skiers missing after Colorado avalanche
Crews worked from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. to recover the victims buried under more than 20 feet of avalanche debris. Author: Jennifer Campbell-Hicks, Dacia Johnson (9NEWS), Melissa Reeves (9NEWS) Published: 10:00 AM MST February 2, 2021 Updated: 6:02 PM MST February 4, 2021
SILVERTON, Colo. Rescue crews have recovered three backcountry skiers who were fully buried in an avalanche Monday between the towns of Silverton and Ophir, according to officials.
Those skiers were identified by Eagle County and the Town of Eagle on Wednesday as Seth Bossung, Andy Jessen and Adam Palmer.
Jessen was Eagle s mayor pro tem. The town s mayor, Scott Turnipseed remembered him as a forward thinker, and a great guy who always had good questions. Jessen was also a co-founder of Bonfire Brewing in Eagle.
Screenshot from video submitted to Colorado Avalanche Information Center
On Jan. 8, Braden Litke of Fairplay posted to the popular Colorado Backcountry Ski & Snowboard Facebook page a list of “fun things to do other than die in avalanches while the snowpack is rotten.”
The list consisted of a dozen bullet points, and included “surf some lower angle trees as fast as you can,” “build a booter and send a backflip at sunset for your profile picture,” “ski extreme terrain in crappy conditions inbounds at resorts to improve your ability” and several other options.
Ultimately the point was clear from Litke, a snowboarder who is as eager for powder as anyone amid the novel coronavirus pandemic: backcountry conditions may not be worth the risks they pose.
“There’s just exceptionally weak snow around the whole state,” said Ben Pritchett, forecaster with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. “It’s not historically unusual, but it’s different than what we’ve had
Colorado’s avalanche danger this month has hovered around the moderate and considerable levels, and experts say that’s when most fatal avalanche accidents happen.
The avalanche danger was rated considerable near and above treeline in the Summit and Vail zones on Friday, Dec. 25, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. Danger was expected to decrease to moderate on.