GRAND COUNTY, Colo. (KKTV) – A backcountry split boarder is now safe after getting caught in an avalanche Thursday near Berthoud Pass.
The Grand County Search and Rescue team said some of their team members were in the area recreating when they said they witnessed the end of the avalanche.
They said the members then responded to the debris field by 11:45 a.m. and conducted a “transceiver search” to see if anyone was buried and was transmitting a signal.
While this was happening, crews said 911 received a call from a split boarder reporting that they triggered an avalanche and were carried down the mountain, but were able to come to a stop and were now stranded above the cliffs on the west side of Berthoud Pass.
The Winter Park dog team assisted with searching the debris field for anyone caught up in the snow that may not have been wearing transceivers, but they said the dog, Biskit, did not pick up any scent.
Rescuers then were able to get up to the top of the slide path, set up a rope system and bring the boarder back to safety. The border, who crews said was uninjured, was then brought back to the trailhead and returned back home.
“The subject was extremely lucky to survive this avalanche. The avalanche ran over a steep band of cliffs that would have resulted in a devastating outcome had the subject been carried another few feet further,” the Grand County Search and Rescue team said.
Rescue crews reminded those travelling into the backcountry to carry proper avalanche safety gear, including a beacon, shovel and probe, when venturing out during the wintertime.
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