Backcountry snowboarder killed near Ophir marks first avalanche death of the season

A snowboarder killed Monday in the backcountry of the San Juan Mountains marked the first avalanche death of the season. 

Dr. Peter Harrelson, 67, died after he was caught in an avalanche triggered in the Waterfall Creek area near Ophir, a small mountain town 13 miles south of Telluride, according to the San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office. Harrelson was a longtime resident of Ophir.

His friends and family followed his tracks Monday night after reporting him overdue, but were unable to find him, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center said in a preliminary report. 

San Miguel County deputies and search and rescue teams began looking for Harrelson on Monday night and continued their search Tuesday morning. The search required avalanche mitigation before teams could be dropped in to look for him, the sheriff’s office said. 

SAR teams found Harrelson’s body Tuesday morning with traumatic injuries from an avalanche, according to the sheriff’s office. 

The avalanche happened on a northwest-facing peak below treeline, CAIC said. 

Most of Colorado’s mountains are still facing a considerable risk of avalanche danger, CAIC said, warning that natural and human-triggered avalanches are still being reported on slopes with 30- to 35-degree steepness. 

While east-facing peaks are currently the most dangerous, avalanches have been reported in almost every direction and elevation, CAIC said. Open areas below the treeline are equally as dangerous as higher elevation.

The town of Ophir, which sits in a valley, is surrounded by six avalanche paths. Two thirteeners, Lookout Peak and Yellow Mountain, border the old mining town. 

It’s not uncommon for folks to watch avalanches from town and YouTube is filled with Ophir avalanche videos, including one from when helicopters were sent up to do avalanche control last January before crews began to clear snow and debris that crossed the road in Ophir as the result of a natural slide.