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Three skiers have died in Colorado avalanches since the weekend. Two skiers, training for the Grand Traverse race near Crested Butte were killed in a slide on Saturday. On Tuesday, a solo skier was buried by a remotely triggered slide near Telluride. This brings Colorado’s avalanche death toll to five for the season.
Owen Green and Michael Goerne were reported missing on Saturday night; their bodies were found by Search and Rescue under a debris pile on Sunday. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) posted a bulletin reading: “You can trigger avalanches that break in the new and wind drifted snow that will be large enough to bury or kill you. You may even be able to trigger very large very dangerous avalanches that break deeper in the snowpack. If you trigger one of these deeper avalanches it will most likely be inescapable.”
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On Tuesday, Telluride’s Salvador Garcia-Atance was traveling alone on a well-traveled backcountry trail in the Bear Creek drainage behind the resort. He was reported missing Tuesday night after never returning home. His body was found beneath a remotely triggered slide that broke 75 feet wide and ran 2,000 vertical feet, according to the CAIC.
Our condolences go out to the family and friends of all three victims.
Read more about avalanche safety and backcountry travel in TGR's Safety Week content.
