A person reported missing in the Boss Basin area March 7 was found early the following morning, among the debris from a two-foot deep avalanche, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
The Eagle County Coroner’s Office identified the deceased as David Pickett-Heaps, a 58-year-old man from Silverthorne. The skier marks Colorado’s first avalanche fatality of the year.
CAIC said the avalanche happened near the treeline on the northeast face of a mountain near the Copper Mountain Range and Vail Pass, where the group’s avalanche forecast shows “considerable” risk near and above the treeline, as of March 9. The affected slope ranged from 33 to 36 degrees, according to a preliminary accident summary — CAIC recommends skiers avoid slopes of 30 degrees or more when seasonal avalanche risks increase.
“We’re still dealing with a scary persistent slab avalanche problem,” said CAIC in a recent forecast discussion note for the northern mountains region. “Weak layers formed during the drought at the start of February are capped by cohesive slabs that range in depth from 1 to 3 feet … A storm on Friday, followed by strong winds on Saturday and Sunday, once again overloaded these weak layers (as) demonstrated by 35 avalanches reported over the weekend.”
The Eagle County Sheriff’s Office is leading the response and investigation into the death, according to the CAIC. Other groups involved in finding the body were Flight For Life, the Summit County Rescue Group, Summit County Sheriff’s Office and Vail Mountain Rescue.