Peter Marshall, a 40-year-old man from Longmont, was killed Saturday in an avalanche near Red Mountain Pass.
Ouray County Corner Colleen Hollenbeck confirmed the fatality and said an autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death, but it is currently categorized as an avalanche death.
The avalanche occurred in the upper Senator Beck Basin near Red Mountain Pass, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
Four other skiers with Marshall were rescued.
According to the Denver Post, Ouray County Sheriff Dominic Mattivi said the group was skiing in the backcountry when the avalanche occurred. Mattivi reported that the other four skiers were OK.
It was Colorado’s first avalanche fatality of the year, according to the CAIC. The avalanche center also said Saturday and Sunday’s storm would likely increase the avalanche danger in the San Juan and Grand Mesa mountains.
On Sunday, the CAIC listed the avalanche risk in the southern and northern San Juan mountains as considerable, the third-highest level on CAIC’s five-point scale.
Southwest Colorado and eastern Utah are under a winter weather advisory from midnight Saturday though midnight Sunday. Six to 12 inches of snow are expected in the high country, with up to 16 inches along southwest-facing slopes.
According to a Facebook post from the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, La Plata, San Juan and Ouray county rescue workers responded to the incident.
