RAND – A search is underway for a missing snowmobiler after an avalanche near Ruby Mountain in northern Colorado.
The slide happened Tuesday afternoon on a northeast-facing slope at an elevation of about 11,100 feet, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
Members of the missing rider’s group called authorities after the slide, and Jackson County Search and Rescue reached the site Tuesday night, The Denver Post reported. The search resumed Wednesday morning.
“Early reports describe the riders traveling across the slope more than once before the avalanche,” according to the avalanche center. “Slopes at all elevations and all aspects are dangerous today (Wednesday).”
The snowmobiler was not wearing a transceiver when the avalanche was triggered, according to Grand County SAR, which is helping with the search.
At least 25 people have been killed in avalanches in the United States so far this winter – more than the 23 who died last winter. Typically, 27 people die in avalanches in the U.S. each winter season.
