Avalanche Report Released On Slide That Killed Longmont Man

LONGMONT, CO -- The Colorado Avalanche Information Center has released a full report on the Western Colorado Jan. 5 slides that killed Peter Marshall, 40, of Longmont. Marshall had been part of a group of six backcountry skiers participating in a safety class at the time of the two-avalanche incident, which has now officially been classified as an accident by the CAIC.

Marshall's Dignity Memorial obituary states that he was a father to two daughters, husband, and friend with an adventurous streak and "an athletic grace and beauty that few could match." Marshall was a passionate skier who moved Colorado in 1998 to study engineering and found a lifestyle he loved.

According the CAIC report, the avalanche triggered by Marshall's group is unusual because it involved a well-trained and well-equipped team of skiers who were accompanied by a highly experienced, local instructor.

The avalanche that caught Marshall appears to have been the second of the two slides involved in the incident. Marshall was the second skier in his group, and was carried downhill in the first slide before his position was overrun by debris from the secondary avalanche.

The other skiers in the group were equipped with avalanche beacons and probes, and were able to identify Marshall's location. It took just over an hour of digging to free Marshall, who had been buried face-down, from the avalanche debris. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.

The report identifies several factors that could have contributed to the incident. The CAIC notes that a basic tenet of avalanche safety is to move one-at-a-time through dangerous territory in order to limit the exposure of the group and ensure that other group members are available to execute a rescue if an avalanche should occur. In the case of the Jan. 5 incident, all six members of the group were caught in the avalanche, and two were buried or partially buried.

The group had carefully picked their route throughout the day with attention to the terrain, and the avalanche occurred in the afternoon, as they attempted their descent. The hazards from the area came from connected terrain, and the day of the slide was the first day that the avalanche danger had dropped below the Level 3, "considerable," status since Dec. 26. Forecasts from Jan. 4 and 5 noted that “Many recent avalanches were triggered from the bottom of the slope, from adjacent slopes, or from a distance," and that “This provides clear evidence that you can trigger an avalanche breaking on buried weak layers today. You can trigger avalanches from the bottom of the slope, from adjacent slopes, or from a distance.”

The group later reported that they had been trying to stay on slopes of less than 30 degrees as they plotted their route using digital tools to look at shaded slope angles. Investigators later found that slopes at the site of the incident were in the range of 32–34 percent, and noted that the skiers had not checked the slope immediately prior to their descent, which might have led them to notice the discrepancy. With an eye toward preventing future similar incidents, the CAIC noted in its report that "The difference between a representation of the terrain and the actual terrain is a very important issue for everyone using these tools for route planning."

Marshall was wearing a backpack airbag at the time of the avalanche, but the investigation indicates that the bag was not deployed.

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Photo credit: Shutterstock

Video via Colorado Avalanche Information Center