A group of skiers and snowboarders got a lot more than they bargained for during a run at Rocky Mountain National Park.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center shared video of the group as they were taken over by an avalanche.
One skier was briefly buried by the snow, KKTV reported. He dislocated his shoulder when he tried to grab a tree.
A second person was caught in the snow when a group went to help the first person, but they were all able to exit the area.
The CAIC said the group had triggered a wind-slap slide in a chute as they were in the backcountry, KUSA reported.
“It shows how easy it is to trigger a small avalanche,” CAIC’s Brian Lazar told KUSA.
He said the group voluntarily shared the video to show the danger but wanted to remain anonymous.
They went into the area to ski cut, or when a skier goes across a slope to intentionally trigger unstable snow to prevent a larger slide from happening.
“We entered this terrain planning to ski cut. We saw cracking while booting to our objective, redirecting the path around slabby areas. We ski cut the upper chute. The wind slab we triggered cleared the upper chute and skier’s left of the lower run. The ski cutter entered an island of safety midway, stopping above the uncleared snow. The 2nd rider stopped below the 1st,” they said in an avalanche report.
“The 3rd leapfrogged, entering the untouched slope, with the speed from the upper chute. It cracked above him with an 8 to 14-inch crown. It caught, carried, and briefly buried him. He grabbed a tree, dislocated his shoulder, and ended up on the surface. As the other two dropped to help, the upper skier triggered the remaining hangfire, which carried the lower rider. The slide stopped after 10-15 feet. Shoulder relocated, descended the rest of the way to Haiyaha, ascended Dream Ridge, and shredded out the dream chutes. Spirits were high, we were happy to be at the trailhead; a beer was drank, and we talked about our experience after,” they said.
CAIC said that if people were planning to hit the backcountry, they need to check avalanche forecasts and have safety gear, including a shovel, transceiver and probe, and know how to use the equipment in case of emergency, KUSA reported.
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