Video Shows Snowmobile Triggering Avalanche Near Leadville
LEADVILLE, Colo. (CBS4) - The Colorado Avalanche Information Center released dramatic video over the weekend that shows a snowmobile rider triggering an avalanche moments after skiiers passed through the same area. It happened near Leadville in Birdseye Gulch earlier this month.
The first snowmobile triggered the slide on Feb. 11, burying a second rider. Luckily, the one who was caught was able to stay partially above the snow and survived, despite tumbling hundreds of feet along with the machine.
Avalanche experts say the snow we got over the weekend plus new snow on the way will increase the avalanche risk in Colorado's backcountry yet again.
"Conservative terrain choices with attention to connected terrain and safe travel practices can help us manage the high degree of uncertainty with the complicated snowpack structure currently present in many backcountry zones," officials with the CAIC wrote in a Facebook post.
