An unidentified man died Monday morning in an avalanche in the Express Creek area of the Castle Creek Valley outside of Aspen, an official said.
Emergency dispatchers received a call at 10:19 a.m. from a Mountain Rescue Aspen member reporting that one man in the area of the Markley Hut was caught in the avalanche, which occurred shortly before the call, said Alex Burchetta, director of operations at the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office.
It appeared people in the area were able to dig the man out of the snow and start CPR, though that was not successful, Burchetta said.
“We have one confirmed fatality,” he said.
Our office has been notified of an avalanche outside Aspen, in the area of the Markley Hut. The slide caught one individual & has claimed the life of that individual. Deputies & @MtnRescueAspen are making a plan now. Updates will be available as we learn more information. pic.twitter.com/pbFF3Tg1Fd
— Pitkin Co. Sheriff (@PitkinSheriff) January 21, 2019
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MRA members were mobilizing late Monday morning to retrieve the body and help escort other members of the man’s party out of the backcountry, Burchetta said.
The Markley Hut is located outside Ashcroft in the Express Creek area and is part of the Alfred A. Braun hut system. Ashcroft is about 12 miles from Aspen.
The MRA member who reported the incident was in the area of the avalanche, but not with man who died, he said. No other information about the man or the size of the avalanche was immediately available Monday morning, Burchetta said.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center has warned that the backcountry in the area is dangerous, and Burchetta warned people to be cautious.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
