A Colorado skier was buried in an avalanche on Red Mountain Pass for hours before his body was found
Colorado skier spotted night skiing after heavy snowfall
A skier in Colorado was seen night skiing as the National Weather Service deemed the area hazardous for travel.
A Colorado woman learned her husband was buried by an avalanche after he never checked in as planned, and she began searching for him under the snow.
Donald Moden Jr., a 57-year-old veteran skier who was once a member of the Ouray Mountain Rescue Team, was killed on Jan. 7 in an area off Red Mountain Pass known as "Bollywood," the Ouray County Plaindealer reported.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) wrote in a report that the 57-year-old was likely buried for more than four hours before he was found.
The avalanche was 800 feet wide and traveled 400 feet vertically, the agency wrote.
TEEN DEAD AT SKI RESORT NEAR POSH MOUNTAIN TOWN
Donald Moden Jr., 57, was buried by an avalanche in Ouray County, Colorado on Jan. 7. He was likely buried in snow for four hours before he was found dead, according to the California Avalanche Information Center. (Facebook)
Moden's wife contacted the Ouray County Sheriff's Office when her husband didn't check in as planned, then went to the trailhead herself. She turned on her avalanche transceiver and immediately got a response from her husband's transceiver, The Colorado Sun reported. She immediately found him with an avalanche probe and called out to surrounding skiers for help.
In addition to his transceiver, the outlet reported, Moden was wearing an avalanche airbag backpack that never deployed.
COLLEGE ATHLETE DIES FROM ACCIDENT ON SKI RESORT'S MOST DIFFICULT TRAIL
Pictured is an aerial image of the accident site. Moden's descent began at the yellow circle, and he was found buried at the red X, according to the CAIC. (California Avalanche Information Center)
He was likely skiing downhill when he was engulfed by the snowslide, the CAIC said, and was on his seventh run of the day. He was buried too deeply to rescue himself, they wrote.
"He had skied on Red Mountain Pass for 16 years and knew the terrain on Red Number 3 well," the report read. "He chose his terrain as appropriate for the day based on his previous experience of the slope and the snowpack."
The head and toe of the Ouray County avalanche that killed Moden are right and left, respectively. (CAIC)
Moden skied on an adjacent slope a day earlier and probably did not see signs of dangerous snowpack, the CAIC said.
Moden's death is the first reported avalanche fatality in Colorado this ski season. Since Nov. 9, the CAIC has reported 25 backcountry skiiers and travelers caught in 23 different avalanches.
Seven of those victims were buried in snow and debris. According to the Colorado Sun, those numbers are not notably higher than those in previous seasons.
Christina Coulter is a U.S. and World reporter for Fox News Digital. Email story tips to
