A backcountry skier was killed in an avalanche Christmas Eve near Cameron Pass, the first avalanche death recorded in Colorado this season, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
The accident occurred about 2 p.m. on a slope below treeline on the southeast end of South Diamond Peak, CAIC officials wrote in a report posted to its website. The avalanche was 250 feet wide.
“The victim’s partner was able to locate him with a transceiver and probe pole and extricate him from the snow, but he did not survive,” according to the report. Rescue workers recovered the victim’s body after dark.
State avalanche forecasters are set on Saturday to visit the avalanche site.
The incident marks the first avalanche death in the state this ski season, following 12 fatalities in 2020-21, per state data.