Death makes this season the deadliest on record in Colorado

VAIL — Gary Allen Smith, 37, was caught and killed in an avalanche in the backcountry near Beaver Creek Resort on Monday, the Eagle County Coroner has confirmed.

The avalanche occurred in an area near the bottom of the Larkspur Bowl known as the Sanctuary Chute, below treeline in a steep northwest-facing chute at an elevation of around 10,500 feet near the Lime Creek drainage. Smith was trapped in the slide, and his skiing companion was able to locate him, dig him out and call for help, but Smith did not survive.

The Colorado Avalanche Information Center filed an initial report Monday and will file a follow-up report.

The fatality is the 35th avalanche death in the U.S. this season and the 12th in Colorado, making it the deadliest avalanche season since the 1992-93 season in Colorado, when 12 people also died.

Smith was a well-known local backcountry skier who worked at a backcountry shop and was a gear editor at WildSnow.com. The website describes him as an “obsessive tinkerer and modifier of his gear, rarely satisfied with stock options and always looking for improvement.”

Smith was a ski patroller who began backcountry touring after an injury. Before moving to the Vail area, he lived in Taos, New Mexico.

According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, the backcountry avalanche forecast in Eagle County has been consistently rated as considerable this season. This means there are dangerous avalanche conditions, and cautious route-finding and conservative decision-making is essential. It is extremely important for the backcountry traveler (especially on slopes between 30 and 45 degrees) to take the time to analyze the layers of the snowpack and test their stability.

The Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, Vail Mountain Rescue Group, Beaver Creek Ski Patrol, Eagle County Coroner’s Office, Eagle County Paramedic Services, Strawberry Park Medical and the Vail Public Safety Communication Center worked collaboratively on this incident.