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A Colorado backcountry skier freed himself after an avalanche and tried to save his son. After a two-hour search, his son was found dead.

    dog tries to save someone who is under an avalanche

    A rescue team dog, like this one, found the skier more than two hours after the avalanche.AAron Ontiveroz/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images

    • A father and son went skiing in Breckenridge, CO on Saturday and got caught in an avalanche.

    • The father was able to free himself and called 911, but his son was found dead two hours later.

    • Deadly avalanches are becoming more common due to climate change.

    A father was unable to help save his son after the two were swept away by an avalanche while skiing in Breckenridge, Colorado.

    The two were skiing backcountry at some 11,600 feet when a pack of snow rolled down the mountain at 1 p.m., partially burying the father and the son completely, according to a report published Sunday by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. .

    The father managed to free himself and searched in vain for his son. He went looking for cell service and called 911, but his son was found dead at 3 p.m. by a rescue dog after authorities arrived, the report said.

    location of an avalanche that struck and further killed two in Breckenridge, Colorado December 31, 2022

    The site of the avalanche.Colorado Avalanche Information Center

    The names of the two skiers were not made public, but the Denver Post identified them as father and son.

    The son was one of two to die in an avalanche this season, the information center said.

    Fatal avalanche accidents in Colorado will certainly become more common in the changing climate, Ethan Greene, director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, told CBS in November, because there are greater temperature swings during the ski season, so there are more “rainfall accidents” . -snow” events even during the coldest months of the year, making avalanches more likely.

    While avalanches used to be common for a specific and limited period of time each year, they now occur all season long, according to the CBS report.

    Read the original article on Business Insider