An avalanche killed a skier March 13, marking
the thirteenth killed so far this year in the United States this winter, the most since the winter of 2006/07, according to statistics kept by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
The latest victim was Rob Liberman, a long-time Telluride resident who worked as a heli-ski guide in Alaska, according to the Telluride Daily Plant. Liberman, 35, was killed March 13 in an avalanche near Haines, AK as he was guiding a group. He was buried under six feet of snow and perished, while a second avalanche victim was recovered live and flown to Seattle for treatment.
Liberman was a brand ambassador for DPS Skis, which set up a tribute to him on its Facebook page.
Liberman’s death came just six days after an avalanche claimed the lives of two other members of the the extended outdoor industry family.
On March 7, backcountry ski enthusiast and blogger Steve Romeo, 40, and Jackson Hole Resort tram maintenance manager Chris Onufer, 42, were dragged 3,000 feet to their death by an avalanche at Grand Teton National Park. Romeo was a long-time employee of Skinny Skis in Jackson Hole and well known for documenting his backcountry ski adventure on his blog TetonAT.
Avalanche experts have been predicting an active spring avalanche season in the west this year because because of the poor quality and paucity of early winter snow at the base of the snowpack across much of the Rockies.
