Two skiers were caught and killed in an avalanche near Highland Peak. This was a hard-slab avalanche which fractured at about 4 feet below the surface of the snow pack.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS GJT wrote it up.
Two skiers were caught and killed in an avalanche near Highland Peak. This was a hard-slab avalanche which fractured at about 4 feet below the surface of the snow pack. The avalanche traveled about 1100 feet in the vertical and was about 500 feet wide. Four other skiers in the group outran the avalanche.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avalanche, Gore and Elk Mountains/Central Mountain Valleys | 2000-03-17 | 30 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
| Avalanche, Gore and Elk Mountains/Central Mountain Valleys | 2000-03-17 | 49 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, March 2000
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: 5137440.