At least 15 dead as the U.S. sees the deadliest week of avalanches in over a century

At least 15 people lost their lives due to avalanches in the U.S. from January 30 to February 6 this year– the worst and deadliest in the country since 1910, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC). It included avalanches in Alaska, California, Colorado, Montana, New Hampshire, Utah.

The U.S. had its deadliest week of avalanches in over a century after at least 15 people lost their lives.

The most recent one was in Utah, where four skiers lost their lives in an avalanche in Millcreek Canyon on Saturday, February 6, 2021. Four other skiers survived.

On February 1, three backcountry skiers died in an avalanche in San Juan Mountains, Colorado. Four people were initially trapped, while others in the group managed to set free one skier who sustained minor injuries.

"This is a tragic week for all of us in the United States, with more deaths in avalanches than we've seen since 1910 and three accidents that killed three people or more," the CAIC said in a statement on Monday, February 8.

"Monday's (February 1) accident near The Nose in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado is a painful reminder of the danger of multiple people exposed to a large avalanche path and the way terrain traps amplify the consequences of an avalanche."

Featured image credit: Friends of CAIC