Denver, CO – An avalanche struck a group of 15 skiers on Saturday afternoon at Arapahoe Basin ski area in Colorado.

Only relatively minor injuries were reported even though the 2:48 p.m. slide fully buried one member of the group, which was being led by an A-Basin ski patroller into the resort’s West Montezuma Bowl. The run was closed to the general public at the time.

“The area had received extensive avalanche mitigation work and explosives work both that day, the day before, and several days preceding,” said A-Basin general manager Alan Henceroth.

The only significant injury was reported to one guest’s knee. That skier was transported to the base area via toboggan after being extricated from the slide debris.

Arapahoe Basin and the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) are conducting a joint accident investigation.

“The avalanche released on a south-southeast facing slope at approximately 12,200 feet,” the CAIC wrote in a preliminary report. “The crown face was 330 feet wide and ranged in depth from 16 inches to nearly 12 feet. It was a hard-slab avalanche, triggered by a skier, of medium size relative to the path, large enough to cause significant injury, which broke into old snow and to the ground in places.”

The CIAC expects to release its full report on the avalanche incident next week. West Montezuma Bowl remains closed at this time.