Snowmass avalanche recovery effort stalls
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- Created on Friday, 25 February 2011 16:10
- Written by Nathan
Contributed photo/Aspen Times
By RICK CARROLL, THE ASPEN TIMES
SNOWMASS — Members of Mountain Rescue Aspen and the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office plan to reconvene Friday morning to determine whether to attempt to recover the body of a skier who was killed Tuesday by an avalanche in the backcountry outside the Snowmass ski area.
Thursday's effort to recover the body of Brandon John Zukoff, 26, of Snowmass Village, was thwarted after bomb-activated avalanches covered and moved the body, making it difficult to locate, said Sheriff Joe DiSalvo.
“To make sure the area was safe they threw some bombs over there. Unfortunately the slide re-covered the body,” DiSalvo said Thursday night, adding there was more snow in the area than officials anticipated.
DiSalvo said the three MRA members in the field, along with Brian McCall, local forecaster with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, recovered Zukoff's beacon, which he had at the time of the avalanche.
“The beacon was recovered but it was not with him. They searched for him and couldn't find him,” DiSalvo said.
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