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Skiers who died Wednesday ID'd |
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Thursday, January 19, 2012 14:33 |
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By Scott Condon, The Aspen Times
ASPEN — The two men who died skiing near Aspen on Wednesday have been identified. Both were local residents.
Gabriel Lee Hillard, 30, died after crashing into a tree at Aspen Highlands. Longtime local Keith Ames was buried in an avalanche on Burnt Mountain, adjacent to the Snowmass ski area.
Hilliard was snowboarding on Canopy Cruiser when he hit two trees and suffered a severe chest wound, according to the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office.
Canopy Cruiser is a double-black-diamond run.
Another skier reported that Ames, 43, dropped in from a ridge and knocked loose a section of snow that soon caught up to him and buried him, according to a sheriff's office statement.
Two skiers worked for about 10 minutes to dig Ames out of the snow. Others called 911, the sheriff's office said. Rescuers could not revive him.
Burnt Mountain is a popular “sidecountry” area for powder skiers just outside the Snowmass ski area.
Read more about the accidents in the Aspen Times.
As a warning to backcountry users, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center issued an avalanche warning Sunday. Forecasters on Wednesday upgraded the avalanche danger to "considerable" over much of the Colorado high country.
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