Colorado, 1999

Avalanche in Colorado, January 23, 1999

January 23, 1999 · NWS GJT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Two men skiing at the 9000 foot level just outside of the Aspen Highlands Ski Area triggered an avalanche which was 75 feet across and 100 feet long. Both men were buried.

Where it happened

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The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
1
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS GJT wrote it up.

Two men skiing at the 9000 foot level just outside of the Aspen Highlands Ski Area triggered an avalanche which was 75 feet across and 100 feet long. Both men were buried. One person survived.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

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Event by event

1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.

Avalanche, Gore and Elk Mountains/Central Mountain Valleys/Aspen and Vicinity / Ne S Eagle / Pitkin Except Xnc / X Ne Mesa / Se Garfield (Part)

When
January 23, 3:30 PM MST
Where
Gore and Elk Mountains/Central Mountain Valleys/Aspen and Vicinity / Ne S Eagle / Pitkin Except Xnc / X Ne Mesa / Se Garfield (Part) forecast zone
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates
39.481, -107.172 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

What these are

Avalanche
A mass of snow sliding down a mountainside that caused a death, an injury or damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Colorado in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, January 1999

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5685360.