Fatal Avalanche in Boss Basin Kills Backcountry Skier Near Ptarmigan Pass

A backcountry avalanche in Boss Basin claimed the life of David Pickett-Heaps, confirmed the Eagle County Coroner's Office, marking Colorado's first recorded avalanche fatality of the 2025-26 winter season. The slide occurred Saturday, March 7, 2026, in the upper portion of Resolution Creek south of Ptarmigan Pass in the Tenmile Range, near Copper Mountain Resort.

Pickett-Heaps was reported missing Saturday evening. Summit County Rescue Group, Vail Mountain Rescue Group, and Summit and Eagle County Sheriff's offices launched an overnight search and located an avalanche with both ski and snowmobile tracks leading directly into the slide path. At sunrise on March 8, with aerial support from Flight For Life Colorado, rescuers found Pickett-Heaps deceased, embedded in the avalanche debris.

Colorado Avalanche Information Center staff visited the site March 8 to document the slide. Their preliminary observations describe a northeast-facing slope near treeline with a starting zone angle of 33 to 36 degrees and a crown depth of approximately 2 feet (60 centimeters). Those slope angles sit squarely within the range where slab avalanches most commonly release. The Summit County Sheriff's Office confirmed via a Facebook post that the avalanche occurred in Eagle County.

The CAIC characterized the conditions that day as particularly dangerous and deceptive. "These conditions are tricky," the agency stated in its preliminary report. "You may be able to travel on a slope multiple times before it slides, and there may be no obvious warning signs before triggering a very large avalanche. You might trigger one from below, or a distance away. Make conservative terrain choices and enjoy the new snow on lower-angle slopes that aren't connected to steeper terrain above."

The CAIC noted its preliminary incident report may be updated as the investigation continues, with a full accident report to follow after site investigation and analysis are complete. Up-to-date avalanche forecasts for the region are available on the CAIC website.

Boss Basin sits in backcountry terrain south of Ptarmigan Pass, well beyond the controlled boundaries of nearby Copper Mountain Resort. For anyone heading into the Tenmile Range this season, this incident is a hard reminder that a slope that held yesterday offers no guarantee today.