Chaffee County SAR South was paged out at approximately 5:20 Thursday evening for a reported avalanche south of Monarch Crest, with two backcountry users and a dog caught.
The call to the Chaffee County Communications Center was from a friend of the group who had received a text message from the subjects caught in the avalanche, stating they had been caught but had self-rescued and needed help returning to the trailhead.
As CCSAR South’s hasty team arrived at the Monarch Crest parking lot, they made contact with the subjects descending the Crest trail. The subjects refused medical care and provided a debrief of the avalanche. Around 16:30, the subjects and dog were ascending their previously set skin track near the northeast face of Mount Peck when they moved from a treed slope into a more open bowl. The avalanche broke wide above them, propagating to ground and catching both subjects and the dog. Subject 1 triggered an airbag pack and was partially buried approximately 50 yards above the second subject, who was buried almost entirely by debris but was able to keep a hand above the snowpack. Subject 1 self-rescued and was able to rapidly dig out the second subject. Unfortunately, their dog was also caught and buried and was not recovered.
The subjects were able to make their way back to the ridgeline and to the trailhead under their own power. Photos of the avalanche were provided by the subjects.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center – CAIC was notified of the avalanche. The Sawatch range is currently listed Considerable (3 out of 5 levels) on the Avalanche Danger Scale, with wind slab and persistent slab avalanches as the main problems on Northwest to East slopes above and near treeline.
CCSAR South mourns the loss of the subject’s dog and recognizes the outcome could have easily been much worse. We again urge all backcountry users to check the avalanche forecast before heading into winter terrain; the snow will still be there to enjoy as avalanche conditions improve.
