Colorado Logged The First Avalanche Death For The Season


This past Sunday, December 8, a backcountry skier lost her life in Colorado due to an avalanche, marking the first avalanche death of the season.

Around 2:45 P.M. this past Sunday, the Larimer County Communications Center received a 911 call for the skier that was caught in the avalanche. The Larimer County Sheriff's Office and rescue teams from Jackson County responded.

The skier was a 29-year-old woman from Fort Collins. Other members of her ski group were able to begin the rescue effort by digging the victim out of the snow, though she was not breathing. She was then pronounced dead at the scene of the avalanche.

According to the preliminary report from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, the avalanche ran for close to 425 vertical feet, ending at around 375 feet wide at the toe, with a depth of close to three feet in some areas. The site of the avalanche was Diamond Peak near Cameron Pass on Highway 14.

The victim's body was recovered at the time of rescue by the responding rescue teams. The identity, cause, and manner of death will be released by the Larimer County Coroner's Office at such time as that information has been confirmed.

Photo Credit: Colorado Avalanche Information Center - The avalanche site the following day.

Update 12/11/2019


The identity of the victim has been confirmed and released by the Larimer County Coroner's Office. The victim is Michelle Lindsay, 29, of Fort Collins, Colorado.

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