Summit Daily reports that the Summit County Rescue Group had a busy day on Sunday, 1/3/20.
The first incident involved two skiers who were stuck in the Coin Slot Couloir on Mount Royal. The skiers made a rescue call at 2:30 PM after they witnessed a sudden collapse of snow near the skiable terrain.
They feared that they could not safely descend the couloir without triggering a substantial avalanche.
A nine-person rescue team was deployed to rescue the skiers. They were safely evacuated from the couloir at 7:30 PM.
In another incident, a hiker was thought to be missing on Quandary Peak when he didn’t check-in with his family.
The hiker was found at 5:30 PM by the light of his headlamp, but rescuers believe he deviated from his original route and climbed a 40-degree couloir on the north face of Quandary Peak.
He was uninjured, but rescuers believe he was extremely lucky to not have been injured in an avalanche.
The CAIC has reported fairly unstable snow conditions for the majority of this season. Climbing a 40-degree pitch was definitely not advisable.
Thank you to the heroes, like those at The Summit County Rescue Group, for putting their lives on the line to save others.
Please stay safe in the backcountry this season, friends.