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Mountain Rescue member killed in backcountry avalanche

www.avalanche.state.co.us

A veteran member of Mountain Rescue Aspen was killed after being caught in an avalanche on Maroon Bowl yesterday. A release from the Pitkin County Sheriff’s office said it’s believed the skier hit a tree in the slide.

Aspen Highlands Ski Patrol members witnessed the slide and called in a report of two skiers caught in an avalanche outside the ski area boundary. The second skier was able to ski out of the backcountry area with injuries that were not life-threatening.

Mountain Rescue was notified of the avalanche and discovered after investigation that the deceased skier was a long-time member of the organization.

The release, from Deputy Kent Taylor stated two skiers accessed the Maroon Bowl area from a backcountry gate on Aspen Highlands ski area and were skinning uphill when the avalanche broke loose.

Conditions were deemed too unsafe for a recovery operation Sunday but will continue as soon as weather and safety allow.

 

Aspen native Elizabeth Stewart-Severy is excited to be making a return to both the Red Brick, where she attended kindergarten, and the field of journalism. She has spent her entire life playing in the mountains and rivers around Aspen, and is thrilled to be reporting about all things environmental in this special place. She attended the University of Colorado with a Boettcher Scholarship, and graduated as the top student from the School of Journalism in 2006. Her lifelong love of hockey lead to a stint working for the Colorado Avalanche, and she still plays in local leagues and coaches the Aspen Junior Hockey U-19 girls.