Saguache County caucus training

COLORADO— In Aspen, an 83-year-old man died after he apparently skied off the deck of the halfpipe at Aspen Snowmass in western Colorado. The Aspen Times reported ski patrol found the Montrose man Monday morning, and he died at a Denver hospital Wednesday, Feb. 12. The halfpipe at Snowmass has walls that are 22-feet high and is used for professional competitions. Weather conditions Monday morning included periods of fog and snow. Resort officials say the man was wearing a helmet when he crashed.
In Vail, Thursday, Feb. 13, a 46-year-old skier suffocated to death at a Colorado resort after he fell through an opening in a chairlift seat and became caught with his coat wrapped around his head and neck. Jason Varnish of Short Hills, New Jersey, died of positional asphyxia Feb. 13 at Vail Mountain’s Blue Sky Basin area.
Outside of Durango, The Durango Herald reported that a 70-year-old Dallas man struck a tree and died while skiing at Purgatory Resort in southwestern Colorado. The La Plata County Coroner’s Office says the collision happened at about 1:15 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15. The man, who was skiing with his wife, died on the mountain. He had been wearing a helmet. It has been three years since someone died at Purgatory Resort.
In Eagle County, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center reported Sunday, Feb. 16, that the bodies of two timbersledders buried in an avalanche have been recovered. According to the CAIC’s preliminary report, “the avalanche occurred at about 2:30 p.m. Feb. 15. The Eagle County Coroner’s Office has identified the victims as Dillon Block, 28 and Cesar Almanza-Hernandez, 30. Both men were from Gypsum. Three motorized snow bike riders were caught in an avalanche east of Red and White Mountain in Eagle County Saturday. One rider was partially buried and was able to extricate himself and go for help. The avalanche carried the other two riders into a gully in the drainage bottom,” according to the report. “Avalanche debris piled up deeply and they were fully buried and killed. Search and Rescue volunteers recovered the bodies Feb. 16. The avalanche occurred on a northeast-facing below tree line slope, around 9800 feet in elevation. It was about 650 feet wide and ran about 120 vertical feet. The avalanche initiated in the old snow layers about 3 feet below the snow surface. It stepped down to a weak layer near the ground, about 5 feet deep.”


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