Skier, 27, killed in backcountry avalanche near Vail Pass

Man was with two others 'skiing at their own risk'

By Tillie Fong, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 5, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

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A skier was killed Friday during an avalanche in an area known as East Vail Chutes near Vail Pass.

Authorities said Jesse Brigham, a 27-year-old RockResorts employee, was pronounced dead Friday afternoon.

The Eagle County Sheriff's Office was notified about noon Friday of an avalanche in East Vail Chutes, seven miles from Vail mountain.

Brigham was skiing with two others when the avalanche occurred. All three were wearing avalanche beacons, so his companions were able to locate him and attempt a rescue, police said.

He was pulled from the snow by his companions after he was buried for 10 to 20 minutes, but attempts to revive him failed, according to Shannon Cordingly, spokeswoman for the Eagle County Sheriff's Office.

Eagle County Coroner Kara Bettis said the cause of death was asphyxiation. Even though the avalanche area is not part of Vail resort, the Vail Mountain Ski Patrol sent a team to assist at the request of Eagle County Sheriff's Office, according to Jen Brown, spokeswoman for the resort.

Brigham was an employee at The Arrabelle at Vail Square, a luxury resort hotel opening today.

"The RockResorts family extends its deepest sympathies and thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of Jesse Brigham," said Stan Brown, executive vice president and CEO for RockResorts , in a statement released Friday.

It was not known Friday night what position Brigham held at the hotel, but he is licensed as an apprentice plumber in Massachusetts.

Brigham's family in Worcester, Mass., declined to comment Friday, though his father, Chester Brigham, said his son was in Vail for the winter season.

The skiers were in an area in the White River National Forest, which is considered the backcountry, according to the Eagle County Sheriff's Office.

"It's not like they were illegally skiing," said Sara Cross, spokeswoman for Eagle County Sheriff's Office. "They were skiing at their own risk."

The Colorado Avalanche Information Center received some preliminary information about the incident.

"A skier was caught on the east, northeast aspect of the treeline," said Spencer Logan, avalanche forecaster for the Colorado Avalanche Information Center in Boulder.

"The avalanche swept the skier over a cliff and into some small trees."

At the time, the avalanche danger in the area was moderate. "Most avalanche accidents, most fatalities, occur mostly during moderate, followed by considerable (avalanche danger ratings)," Logan said.

However, he said that the snowstorm that hit last weekend had made for hazardous conditions in the backcountry.

Increasing winds and new snow expected this weekend have bumped the avalanche danger in the Vail-Summit County zone to "considerable" today at or above treeline.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Snow in forecast

The National Weather Service says a major storm will hit the mountains along the Continental Divide starting today and will bring prolonged and heavy snow to the region south of Aspen, raising the avalanche risk.

* Today: Skies will remain partly cloudy today, with highs in the mid-50s in the metro area. The heaviest snow for mountain areas will be in the southwest, but the western mountains to the north also could get a foot or two.

* Sunday: Mostly cloudy, with a 20 percent chance of snow in the metro area. High: 43, low: 25. A 10 percent chance of snow Sunday night.

* Monday: A 20 percent chance of snow for the metro area. High: 36, low: 17.

* More weather: See the complete weather forecast on NEWS 31 or at RockyMountain News.com.

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