Colorado Avalanches Claim Two Lives

Vail, CO – A sketchy snow pack killed two skiers in Colorado over the weekend in separate in-bounds avalanches.

At Vail Mountain, a 13-year-old boy was killed when he was buried in a slide on closed in-bounds terrain. Taft Conlin of Eagle, Colo., died on Sunday when he was swept away by the avalanche on Prima Cornice, a partially forested double-black run that was reportedly closed and roped off at the time. Conlin’s companion, who was not buried by the slide, summoned rescue officials who performed CPR efforts that failed to revive the victim.

“Vail Mountain, the Vail Ski Patrol and the Vail Resorts family extend their deepest sympathy and support to the family and friends of the skier,” Vail Mountain officials said in a prepared statement.

In a separate incident, an unidentified male was killed on Sunday when an avalanche struck a gully feature while he was skiing in the woods with family at Winter Park ski area. The small 40-foot slide ran for 60 vertical feet, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC), which earlier on Sunday had issued an avalanche advisory for many regions in the state.

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“Be very wary near or below any avalanche terrain, and keep in mind that even small slides can bury and kill you,” CAIC forecaster Brian Lazar wrote in Monday’s advisory.

No further details regarding the Winter Park incident were available at press time. CAIC forecasters were scheduled to travel to both incident sites on Monday to investigate.

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