Photo from Routt County Search and Rescue
A Summit County Rescue Group member is in the hospital recovering from a spinal injury suffered in a fall early last month, according to rescue group spokesperson Charles Pitman.
On June 5, Summit County Rescue Group mission coordinator Rich Miller, 70, was critically injured in a hiking accident north of Steamboat Springs
. Miller was hiking with a group of friends just inside the border between Colorado and Wyoming on a trail to King Solomon Falls. During the hike, Miller tripped and sustained spinal cord injuries, according to Pitman.
Because there is no cell coverage in the area, a hiker had to make their way down the trail and drive to a ranch to call in emergency responders, which ultimately included rescuers from Steamboat Lake State Park, North Routt Fire Protection District and Routt County Search and Rescue.
An avalanche on Buffalo Pass Saturday had a crown up to 12 feet deep in areas. The slide was triggered by a snowcat more than 70 feet away. (Courtesy CAIC)
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS In an “extremely close call” in the backcountry east of Vail on Saturday, a snowboarder got caught in an avalanche that carried him through the trees and buried him under about a foot and a half of snow.
The AvaLung breathing system he had and transceiver his partner used to find him which took about 15 minutes likely saved his life.
Colorado is seeing a once-in-a-decade snowpack that has not been this bad since 2012, according to Eric Green, director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. The poor snowpack has also been deadly, with the 15 deaths in the first week of February in the U.S. being the most recorded since 1910. Eight of the deaths were Coloradans.
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS Routt County Search and Rescue assisted two people who were lost while backcountry skiing Thursday in the area of Buffalo Pass.
Search and Rescue members received a call just before 3 p.m. Thursday from two people who had ventured too far out and ended up in the Fish Creek drainage. They were visiting Steamboat Springs from out of town and were with two other friends on snowmobiles, said Search and Rescue President Jay Bowman.
The couple that ventured out one on skis and one on a snowboard left the snowmobilers behind to explore what Bowman said was “really good snow for skiing.”
Routt County Search and Rescue members gather under the Barrows chairlift to practice finding buried beacons at the newly established area at Howelsen Hill Ski Area. (Courtesy photo)
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS With increased avalanche danger, the newly created park to practice searching for beacons at Howelsen Hill Ski Area is especially timely.
The Steamboat Springs and Flat Tops regions of Colorado are currently under an avalanche watch until Friday morning, as a storm system over the area is on track to be the biggest snow producer so far this season. On Friday, the avalanche risk in the area will jump to a four high danger at all elevations, the second highest warning level used by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
New Beacon Training Park opens at Howelsen Hill Ski Area in Steamboat Springs
Routt Search and Rescue and City of Steamboat Springs
and last updated 2021-02-05 15:08:58-05
ROUTT COUNTY, Colo. â In an effort to educate more people about how to use safety equipment in the case of an avalanche, the Routt County Search and Rescue (RCSAR) has opened a new Beacon Training Park at a ski area in Steamboat Springs.
RCSAR invested in a BCA Beacon Training Park System and partnered with the City of Steamboat Springs to create the Beacon Training Park at the base of Howelsen Hill Ski Area, near the bottom of the Barrows chairlift.