Snowmobile rider killed in Colorado avalanche as reports of deadly avalanches continue to rise in West
Avalanches have been reported across the West during the 2024-25 winter season.
Learn: Reading weather info to learn avalanche threat
The National Avalanche Center and the U.S. Forest Service put together a video explaining the dangers of avalanches and the weather forecasts you should look over to stay out of danger. (Video from March 2024)
DENVER – Officials say a snowmobile rider was caught, buried and killed in an avalanche west of Denver on Saturday.
According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC), the avalanche occurred on Mines Peak, east of Berthoud Pass, in an area known locally as The Fingers or High Trail Cliffs.
This photo of The Fingers avalanche path on Mines Peak, east of Berthoud Pass where a snowboarder was caught, buried and killed on Feb. 22, 2025.
(Breckenridge Ski Patrol / FOX Weather)
The CAIC said The Fingers are a set of steep, rocky, northwest-facing avalanche paths easily accessible from a parking area at the summit of Berthoud Pass.
The avalanche was described as a large, persistent slab slide that broke at the ground across several terrain features.
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This photo of the crown face of a fatal snowboarder triggered avalanche on Mines Peak, east of Berthoud Pass.
(Breckenridge Ski Patrol / FOX Weather)
Officials with the CAIC are expected to visit the site of the avalanche on Sunday and will provide additional details as they learn more.
"Our deepest condolences go out to the friends and family of the victim and everyone involved in the rescue," the CAIC said.
Avalanches reported across West
Avalanche victim rescued after being buried for more than an hour in Colorado
Police bodycam footage shows the harrowing rescue of a snowmobiler who was buried by an avalanche in central Colorado on Monday.
Avalanches have been reported across the West during the 2024-25 winter season.
A man was rescued after an avalanche buried him on the slopes of Vail Pass in central Colorado last Monday, and dramatic video captured the moment he was rescued after being buried for more than an hour.
Officials in central Oregon said they found the bodies of two missing skiers on Feb. 18 who were believed to have been buried in an avalanche in the Cascade Mountains.
Video: Avalanche crashes down mountain near highway in Colorado
Video from the Colorado Department of Transportation shows the avalanche happening as drivers pass by on the highway between the mountains. The avalanche was naturally occurring. (Video from February 2025)
Earlier this month, two ski patrollers were caught in an avalanche after heavy snow on Lincoln Mountain in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains.
A massive avalanche buried a highway in Idaho for several days, and officials said an avalanche killed a skier and injured another at Utah's Big Cottonwood Canyon on Feb. 8.
Also in Utah, a Wyoming man was killed in an avalanche while he was snowmobiling with a friend.
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Bob Van Dillen skis with an Olympian, learns avalanche mitigation for FOX Weather Ski House
FOX Weather Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen talked about the videos his team shot for the FOX Weather Ski House. Some of them involved learning about avalanche mitigation by use of bombs and skiing with an Olympian. FOX Weather Ski House is sponsored by Eddie Bauer.
An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a mountain, hill or any steep incline and can be triggered from below or from a distance.
Avalanches can happen any time there is snow, but the risk is increased at certain times of the year.
They often occur when fresh new snow falls on top of an already-compacted snow base. That newer snow becomes unstable, triggering an avalanche.
Heavy snow and strong winds can also result in natural avalanches, but the National Weather Service says that manmade avalanches are much more common.
"In 90 percent of avalanche incidents, the snow slides are triggered by the victim or someone in the victim's party," the NWS says. "Avalanches kill more than 150 people worldwide each year."