Avalanche at A-Basin

Today there was a huge avalanche in bounds at Arapahoe Basin. At least one person was buried and killed. In the picture you can see the crown of the slide near the top of the ridge and the debris field probably 800 vertical feet below. I was snowboarding at the resort at the time of the accident. I'm in shock right now. Avalanches in bounds at ski resorts are nearly unheard of. It is never on my mind when I'm skiing steep runs at a resort. The weather today was beautiful with clear skies and temperatures in the 60s even up at 13,000ft. The run where the avalanche occured (1st Alley) is a run that I'd skied earlier in the winter. If I had been skiing today instead of snowboarding I very well could have been the one who triggered the slide (I'm not good enough on a snowboard to ski double blacks yet). It is pretty scary to think about.

Rescuers in the debris field at the base of the slide. It was a wet avalanche that was likely caused by the very warm weather.

http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20050520/NEWS/50520002