Taos Ski Resort and Kachina peak were the site of an inbounds avalanche on Thursday. Taos Ski Valley photo.
UPDATE 1/21: The second skier involved in the Taos avalanche has also passed away. The victims' names were released: Corey Borg, 21 of Vail, and Matthew Zonghetti, 26 of Mansfield, Massachusetts.
UPDATE: One skier who was recovered from the slide debris died Thursday evening in a Taos hospital. The other remains in critical condition in an Albuquerque hospital. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims.
An avalanche buried several skiers at New Mexico’s Taos Ski Resort Thursday morning. According to the Taos News, the slide occurred in the K3 chute off the resort’s famed Kachina Peak. Two male skiers were extracted from the debris, revived using CPR, and were transported to the mountain’s medical clinic with unknown injuries. An ongoing search is being conducted for any further victims.
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Kachina Peak’s lift opened for the season on Jan. 15, providing lift-served access to expert terrain that was previously hike-only. The lift was built in 2015. Taos ski patrol had done explosive control work in the area earlier this morning to reduce avalanche risk.
This is the second major inbounds avalanche accident in the United States this season after an avalanche caught several skiers at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in December.
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stash member Max Ritter
I manage digital content here at TGR, run our gear testing program, and am stoked to be living the dream in the Tetons.