Powderhorn Skier Dies

Over winter break, Powderhorn Mountain Resort had some record-setting days. Powderhorn is located about 30-40 minutes from Palisade. Being the closest ski mountain to the Grand Valley, many people choose to ski at this resort. Over break on their social media accounts they posted multiple days that day passes were sold out and parking lots were at capacity. They received multiple feet of snow drawing even more people. However, with all of this good news, there was a tragedy that struck the small mountain.

Friday, January 6th two skiers were skiing down Thunderbird Glade when they came across a 29-year-old buried in the snow. They quickly called the ski patrol for help. The ski patrol was able to get him unstuck and started CPR. They continued CPR down the mountain until he was loaded into the ambulance where they attempted more life-saving measures. Unfortunately, their attempts were unsuccessful. The man's name and cause of death have not been released yet.

Skiing and snowboarding are enjoyable sports for many people. While there are a handful of different forms including uphill, downhill, and cross country some of the safety precautions remain the same. Andrew Torfin, a teacher at Palisade and sponsor of the ski and snowboard club shared some of his safety tips. He says, “the best preventable way is to have the buddy system, don’t ski alone.” He also mentioned if someone so chooses to go and ski out of bounds to follow some more safety precautions including having an avalanche beacon.