Skier "Extremely Lucky" After Surviving 200-Yard Slide During Avalanche in Colorado

One skier in Colorado is “extremely lucky” after emerging unscathed from a large backcountry avalanche on Berthoud Pass on January 18, 2026, according to Grand County Search and Rescue. 

The slide, the organization said, took place on a run called “Postage Stamp” and carried the skier about 200 yards down the mountain. The skier stayed atop the snow, self-extricated, and wasn’t hurt. They maintained all their gear and were able to ski out alongside their partner. 

Grand County Search and Rescue thanked the backcountry travelers in the area who saw the avalanche, dialed 911, and reached the skier to confirm that they were okay after the slide. 

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The Skier Reflects on “Numerous Mistakes”

In a detailed avalanche report posted on the Colorado Avalanche Information Center’s website, the skier who was caught in the slide admitted that “My partner and I made numerous mistakes today.”

The first mistake, they said, was trying to ski a run on an aspect and elevation that the avalanche forecast had identified as slide-prone. The second mistake, they added, was “more nuanced.”

“We found the snow that we were bootpacking through to be solid enough (no shooting cracks or whumpfing), so we decided that we felt ok continuing and we gained the summit ridge where we decided to ski the postage stamp bowl instead of some other lines in neighboring bowls which we had been considering. 

Beginning our descent, I dropped into basically the middle of the face thinking that the snow coverage would be more consistent than our bootpack which was very sharky, maybe 75 feet lookers left of our bootpack. 

Retrospectively, it is clear that skiing a line which is that far from your line of ascent is a mistake because the judgement calls made on the way up were made based on observations made on the line of ascent,” they wrote, noting it would have been safer to ski the line they climbed, “which was outside the slide path based on photos we got from the bottom.”

The skier also shared more details about being caught in the avalanche. 

They said the avalanche triggered about ten feet in front of them. They tried to ski out of its path, but they were swept off their feet, eventually getting buried up to their stomach. Then, they said they radioed their partner to tell them that they were okay, later letting the other parties in the area know that they didn’t need help getting back to the trailhead.

Both the skier and their partner had previously taken AIARE level 1 courses and earned Wilderness First Responders certifications, they said. They added that they have “significant backcountry skiing experience” and that this was the first significant avalanche they had been involved in.

“We shouldn't have let our stoke cloud our judgement,” their report concluded. “Big thanks to the other parties in the zone and to Grand County SAR for their prompt assistance.”

Positioned near Denver, Colorado, Berthoud Pass was once home to a ski area but has since evolved into a popular, accessible backcountry ski zone. Still, despite being within reach of a bustling metro area, the slopes there require avalanche education to navigate safely.