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Skier buried by avalanche, rescued from Colorado mountain

Posted at 3:11 PM, Nov 29, 2019
and last updated 2019-11-29 17:11:45-05

SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. — A skier was fully buried by an avalanche near Searle Pass, above Janet's Cabin near Copper Mountain, Friday morning.

The skier was rescued by fellow group members, and they were all able to safely ski back to the trailhead.

According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, it was a hard slab avalanche triggered by the breakage of weak layers.

Most regions in Colorado are under level 2 out of 5 (moderate) avalanche danger.

The Sangre de Cristos are under considerable avalanche danger, or level 3.

The greatest danger is in the north and south San Juan region, where avalanche warnings are in place until 6 a.m. local time Saturday. An additional one to three feet of snow will fall in the region by Saturday morning.

Travel in these areas is not advised, especially backcountry skiing.

To learn more about this weekend's ski conditions, click here for our ski report.

avalanche warnings

This story was originally published by Alex O'Brien on KOAA in Colorado Springs, Colorado.