Late on Wednesday night, Colorado’s San Juan County Office of Emergency Management, in a multiagency search and rescue operation, recovered the bodies of three skiers who’d been missing since Monday’s February 1 avalanche near Ophir Pass. The skiers have been identified as prominent community members of Eagle County. In a joint statement from Eagle County and the Town of Eagle, the families of the deceased have confirmed their identities as Seth Bossung, Andy Jessen and Adam Palmer.
Three Eagle County, Colorado, Residents Confirmed Dead In San Juan Avalanche
Search and rescue officials have been working since Monday evening in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains to find three skiers who went missing following an avalanche near Ophir Pass. According to the San Juan County Office of Emergency Management, the multiagency search has been ongoing since 5:20 p.m. on Monday and has experienced delays due to elevated avalanche hazard in the area.
Avalanche Fatality Reported Outside Boundaries of Utah’s Park City Mountain Resort
On Saturday, January 30, 57-year-old Kurt Damschroder of Park City, Utah, was caught and killed in an avalanche beyond Utah’s Park City Mountain Resort. This is Utah’s second avalanche fatality of the season, the first of which occurred on an adjacent ridge on January 8.
Gearbox: Goggles
Editors’ Choice: Anon M4 Backcountry skiing often requires sacrificing style for functionality. Luckily, Burton’s goggle and eyewear company, Anon Optics, finds the balance between the two with their M4 goggle. The next iteration to the M2 and M3, the M4 hit the market in 2019 with an upgraded frame shape that features a slightly deeper […]
Utah Records its First Avalanche Death on Historically Fatal Slope
Utah recorded its first avalanche fatality of the 2020/21 season last week. On Friday, January 8, Kevin Jack Steuterman, 31-year-old snowboarder from Clinton, Utah, was caught, carried and buried in the Dutch Draw area just beyond the boundaries of Park City Mountain Resort.
Gearbox: Helmets
Editors’ Choice: Petzl Sirocco They say the best helmet is the one you’ll wear. And for skiers who climb and climbers who ski, the dual-certified Petzl Sirocco gives no excuses to leave your helmet behind, even on the longest tours. “This helmet is uber light! You might just for-get that this thing is strapped to […]
Four fatalities recorded in single weekend, amid “especially dangerous” avalanche conditions
The U.S. recorded its first four avalanche fatalities of the 2020/21 season over the weekend, amid what the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) is calling “especially dangerous” avalanche conditions. On Friday, a snowmobiler in Wyoming’s Sheep Pass area perished in a soft slab; also on Friday, a “legendary ski patroller” died west of Crested Butte, […]
2021 Testers’ Choice: Jed Doane’s Favorite Boards and Boots
This year at Powder Mountain, Utah, our testers gathered for the 2021 Gear Test Week to review 121 products just before Covid-19 sent us into lockdown. Now, we’re debuting the skis, boards, boots, bindings and apparel that you need to go remote—in the backcountry, that is. At the end of the week, we asked each […]
Testers’ Choice: Theresa Clinton’s Favorite Boards
This year at Powder Mountain, Utah, our testers gathered for the 2021 Gear Test Week to review 121 products just before Covid-19 sent us into lockdown. Now, we’re debuting the skis, boards, boots, bindings and apparel that you need to go remote—in the backcountry, that is. At the end of the week, we asked each […]
2021 Testers’ Choice: Emily Boyden’s Favorite Skis and Boots
This year at Powder Mountain, Utah, our testers gathered for the 2021 Gear Test Week to review 121 products just before Covid-19 sent us into lockdown. Now, we’re debuting the skis, boards, boots, bindings and apparel that you need to go remote—in the backcountry, that is. At the end of the week, we asked each […]
