An avalanche caught three backcountry tourers, killing one of them, southwest of Marble in Gunnison County on Friday.
The three men were snowboarding when the avalanche happened in upper Rapid Creek, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. One of the men hiked out of the area to get help, and the Gunnison County Sheriff’s Office said the call came in just before 6 p.m.
Search and rescue teams evacuated the second man by helicopter on Friday. Both men were injured.
After the search resumed on Saturday, rescue teams found the third man buried about four feet deep in avalanche debris, the CAIC said. He was killed in the avalanche. The Gunnison County Sheriff’s Office Saturday evening identified the man as Joel Shute, 36, of Glenwood Springs.
The CAIC said the avalanche broke two to three feet deep, 300 to 500 feet wide and ran 2,400 vertical feet.
The CAIC said in a Saturday morning tweet there have been eight reports of people caught in or carried in avalanches, all on east- and southeast-facing slopes.
