Snowboarder killed in Colorado avalanche in 4th slide death in West this week

This photo provided by Silverton Medical Rescue shows team members responding to a fatal avalanche near Silverton, Colo., Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (DeAnne Gallegos/Silverton Medical Rescue via AP)

SILVERTON, Colo. (AP) — A snowboarder was killed in an avalanche in the mountains of southwestern Colorado on Thursday, the fourth person to die in an avalanche in the U.S. West this week after a string of winter storms.

Sarah Steinwand, 41, of Crested Butte, Colorado, was caught in the debris of the avalanche in the backcountry near Silverton, but a man who was skiing with the snowboarder escaped the snow slide, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center said. Staff from a nearby backcountry hut noticed the avalanche, alerted rescuers and helped the skier dig Steinwand out of the debris, it said.

Three people died in avalanches Monday — one person near Lake Tahoe in California and two backcountry skiers in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains.

The avalanche danger was elevated for most of Colorado’s mountains earlier this week but conditions have improved somewhat in some areas.

The Associated Press