Posted on 03/07/2005 11:25:38 AM PST by KidGlock
Man Dies After Being Pulled From Avalanche
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASPEN, Colo. (AP) - A man taking an avalanche awareness class died after being trapped in a slide outside the boundaries of the Aspen Highlands ski area, sheriff's officials said.
The man died within a half-hour of being pulled alive from the avalanche Sunday, said Ann Stephenson of the Pitkin County sheriff's office.
His name, age and hometown were not released until his family could be notified. Officials were investigating the death.
The man was in a group of six people who were part of a class sponsored by the backcountry expedition company Aspen Expeditions, Stephenson said. A man answering the phone at Aspen Expeditions referred all questions to authorities.
It was not clear what triggered the avalanche.
Early estimates were that the avalanche slid 3,000 vertical feet and was about 100 to 200 yards wide, said mountain weather and avalanche forecaster Scott Toepfer of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
Twenty people have died nationwide in avalanches this winter.
I'll be the first to state the obvious, cruelly ironic.
I think the course curriculum needs updated.
The other 5 are now very well aware.
Where's Alanis Morisette when you need her?
Geez, first the karate class gets robbed at gunpoint and now this?....
This doesn't pass the smell test to me.
Did the Avalanche instructor START the avalanche when it got out of hand?
YYYeeeeooowwwww!!! Can see a lawsuit in the making.
I know that area very well. The local land management squads are constantly firing off cannons to trigger slides so the remaining conditions will be stable. They are all VERY VERY aware of the risks. Local papers play up avalanche fatalities wherever they occur, no doubt to maintain a healthy level of fear and respect. The off-piste treks I'm familiar with are highly regulated.
<macabre>Nothing like a little hands-on training.</macabre>
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