Two snowmobilers narrowly avoided catastrophe when they triggered an avalanche near Leadville, Colorado.
Video shared by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, or CAIC, on Saturday shows the moment the leading snowmobiler triggers the avalanche as they travel up a mountainside in Birdseye Gulch on Feb. 11. As the torrent of snow gushes down the mountain, the avalanche engulfs and carries the second rider down with it.
The CAIC said there were skiers in the area moments before, but their presence did not cause the event.
“It’s really quite terrifying,” CAIC director Ethan Greene told local news station KDVR. “Fortunately, the fellow that was caught in the avalanche ends up with his head above the snow.”
CAIC warned that while the risk of triggering a deep avalanche had decreased since the time the video was shot, the possibility still exists, and the “likelihood of triggering a large and potentially deadly avalanche” could increase over the weekend due to heavier snow.
Greene told KDVR that people should always check avalanche forecasts before setting out, and those traveling through avalanche terrain should go one at a time so that more people are available for a rescue if needed.
Last week, two snowmobilers died on Muddy Pass, near Vail, after triggering an avalanche. A third rider, who was only partially buried, survived.