Video: Skier Caught in Sizable Avalanche in Colorado Backcountry
It’s only November, but in Colorado’s backcountry, avalanche season is here.
Pro skier Colter Hinchliffe shared sobering footage of a fellow backcountry user getting caught by an avalanche in the San Juans on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
In the video, a sizable wind slab carries a person down the mountain, and Hinchliffe begins to spring into action.
Luckily, the moment ended up being a warning shot and not something worse.
“A lot of people skiing in the San Juans today which was awesome to see!” Hinchliffe wrote in his post. “There was a lot of new snow and some wind and luckily this guy was just fine after kicking one off in a nasty little couloir. Hold your judgment and learn from everyone else’s mistakes! It was a great day in the mtns.”
The incident comes just after the Colorado Avalanche Information Center launched its daily mountain forecasts on November 1. They are released by 4:30 p.m. each day and account for the following two days. They include avalanche danger ratings, current avalanche problems, travel advice, and mountain weather information.
The organization’s return to forecasting comes with an updated website. Users can now drop a pin on the map to view nearby forecast areas within 25 miles, a useful change for snowmobilers and other backcountry travelers whose routes cross multiple forecast areas.
“Avalanche conditions can vary significantly across Colorado’s mountains,” said Ethan Greene, CAIC director, in a news release. “We want people to understand the hazards where they’re planning to travel and use that information to choose appropriate terrain.”
For much of Colorado, the CAIC is currently forecasting “low” avalanche danger, which indicates generally safe conditions. Still, in a few parts of the state, including southwest Colorado, the danger is “moderate,” meaning avalanche conditions are heightened on specific terrain features.
On the CAIC’s website, one avalanche accident has been officially documented this season.
On October 25, on Mt. Bross in the Mosquito Range, one skier was caught and partially buried, according to the report.
Using beacons and shovels, their party found them and uncovered their airway within minutes. But at first, they weren’t breathing. They eventually began breathing, and the buried skier was uninjured. While nearby parties called 911, they decided to self-rescue, and SAR was called off.
“The positive outcome of this incident was very lucky, and had the rescue time been much slower, things could have ended much differently,” the report reads.
Related: Skiing Vermont’s Pre-pre-Season Isn’t for the Faint of Heart
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