Fort Collins resident ID’d by coroner as skier killed in backcountry avalanche

Looking up the slide path from the toe of the avalanche. The crown face is obscured by the clouds at the top of the image. The avalanche was approximately 285 feet wide at the crown face and around 375 feet wide at the toe. The avalanche ran around 425 vertical feet.
Colorado Avalanche Information Center/Courtesy Photo

The Larimer County Coroner’s Office identified the skier who was killed in a backcountry avalanche on Sunday as Michelle Lindsay, a 29-year-old from Fort Collins.

On Sunday afternoon, an avalanche on Diamond Peak buried and killed Lindsay, marking the first avalanche death of the season in Colorado.

Though Lindsay was dug out of the avalanche by other members of her group, she wasn’t breathing and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, the avalanche was 2-3 feet deep, between 285 and 375 feet wide and 425 feet vertically.

The Larimer County Coroner’s Office determined that Lindsay suffocated while trapped underneath the snow.

Avalanche danger in the Front Range region, which includes Rocky Mountain National Park, is rated as considerable by the CAIC.

via:: The Aspen Times