Denver Weather Examiner: Firefighter and teen killed in Grand County avalanche
Colorado’s avalanche season claimed two more lives Saturday, killing a South Metro firefighter and a teen. The two were part of a party of four snowmobiling near Grand Lake in the bowl between Gravel and Little Gravel Mountains in Arapaho National Forest.
Brian Kopp, a 38-year-old South Metro Fire Rescue firefighter from Larkspur and 19-year-old Mark Goetz were killed in the slide. 59-year-old Chuck Goetz and 32-year-old Harry Than were also in the party but were uninjured.
The Grand County Sheriff’s Office said Mark Goetz and Brian Kopp rode their snowmobiles up the side of Gravel Mountain in an attempt to ‘high-mark,’ a popular activity by snowmobilers where the operator tries to ride as far up a steep mountain slope as possible. The younger Goetz apparently got stuck and when Kopp went to assist, he got stuck as well. Chuck Goetz, Mark’s father, rode up the slope to assist them when he triggered the avalanche sweeping all three down the mountain.
When Kopp and Goetz were dug out of the snow, CPR was performed, but both men died at the scene, according to deputies. Neither of the riders was wearing an avalanche beacon although it isn’t clear at this time if that would have made a difference.
Kopp is survived by his wife, Jennifer and twin children, son, Alan, 11 and daughter Elli, 11.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center reports that while the avalanche danger has eased in recent days, the danger is still considerable across much of the high country. Two other notable incidents were reported in recent days including an incident near Vail Pass when a snowmobiler triggered a slide (with no fatalities thankfully) and a slide on Loveland Pass that closed the pass from Saturday until this morning.
We recently wrote about the dangerous avalanche conditions in the mountains and this serves as a sad reminder that no place is safe. Extreme caution should be exercised and those traveling in the high country should take appropriate precautions.
* See our slideshow of the avalanche including a map and what the area looked like after the event.
