SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. — A skier sustained only minor injuries when he was carried more than 200 feet by an avalanche near Loveland Pass Sunday, Summit County Rescue Group said.
Rescuers said around noon Sunday, they got a call about an avalanche on the west side of Loveland Pass. Two skiers, a mother and son, were retrieving a piece of gear they had left behind when rappelling to ski a chute the day before, rescuers said. As the man traversed toward the top of the chute, he cut across a steep slope and triggered an avalanche, rescuers said.
The avalanche carried the man 200 to 300 feet, including a drop of about 50 feet off a cliff. Rescuers said he was hit with too much avalanche debris to deploy his airbag. The mother stayed to the side of the avalanche and was not caught.
Rescuers said it took the mother about 10 minutes to reach her son. She found him buried up to his waist and dug him out, rescuers said. He sustained minor injuries.
Several rescue groups responded to the scene, but their services were not needed. Rescuers said the mother and son were both able to ski out on their own.
"It is incredible that the skier caught was able to walk away from this accident," rescuers said in a Facebook post. "Although avalanche danger has been relatively low lately there is still danger and it’s important not to get complacent."
The avalanche danger in Summit County Sunday was rated moderate, or level two on a scale of one to five, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
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