Silverton, CO – A skier descending Kendall Mountain, southwest of the tiny San Juan Mountains town of Silverton, Colo., died in an avalanche on Tuesday.

Olivia Buchanan, 23, of Durango, Colo., was among a group of backcountry skiers descending the Rabbit Ears (Arcade) avalanche path at 11,000 feet on the forested northwest aspect of Kendall Mountain when the small slide released and swept her through a stand of trees, according to a preliminary report from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC). Buchanan, the only member of her skiing party caught by the slide, was seriously injured, and rescue efforts lasted well after dark. She died a short time later en route to a local hospital.

Members of the CAIC were at the scene of the avalanche today to further investigate the incident.

Tuesday’s deadly avalanche near Silverton was the second fatal slide in Colorado in barely more than a week. On New Year’s Eve day, Christopher Thomas died in an avalanche while snowshoeing near Torrey’s Peak in Clear Creek County.