Four others were rescued.
According to the Denver Post, Ouray County Sheriff Dominic Mattivi said the group was skiing in the backcountry when the avalanche occurred. Mattivi reported that the other four skiers were OK.
According to the Durango Herald, Longmont resident Peter Marshall, 40, died.
Ouray County Coroner Colleen Hollenbeck said an autopsy will determine the cause of death, but it was categorized as an avalanche fatality.
It was Colorado’s first avalanche death of the year, CAIC said. On Sunday, the avalanche center raised the avalanche warning in the San Juan and Grand Mesa mountains to “considerable” – the third-highest level on CAIC’s five-point scale.
Earlier Saturday, the southern San Juan mountains were under a moderate warning for avalanches.
Southwest Colorado and eastern Utah were under a winter weather advisory until midnight Sunday. Six to 12 inches of snow were expected in the latest storm, with up to 16 inches along southwest-facing slopes, the National Weather Service said.
According to a Facebook post by the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, La Plata, San Juan and Ouray county rescue workers responded to the avalanche incident.
The Durango Herald contributed to this article.
