ASPEN — Former ski patroller Cory Brettmann likely died from trauma when he was caught in an avalanche Sunday on the backside of Aspen Mountain, Pitkin County Coroner Steve Ayers said Monday.

Ayers was awaiting autopsy results before reaching a definitive conclusion.

Avalanche deaths are split about equally between trauma and suffocation, he said.

Brettmann’s death was “more likely than not trauma-related,” Ayers said.

Brettmann, 52, was killed after he was swept down a steep slope in an area known as the Powerline just outside of the Aspen Mountain ski area, according to statements from the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office and the Aspen Skiing Co. His body was found at the bottom of a slide that an investigator from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) estimated to be about 500 feet long and 40 feet wide. The slide covered about 200 vertical feet, said Brian McCall, the Aspen zone forecaster for the CAIC. The slide occurred at about 11,000 feet in elevation on a northeast aspect with a 34-degree slope.

It is unknown what time the slide occurred Sunday. Brettmann was skiing the out-of-bounds area alone.

Aspen Mountain Ski Patrol members had the grim task of recovering the body of someone they knew well. Brettmann worked ski patrol for 26 years, first at Breckenridge then at Aspen Mountain. He worked for the Aspen Skiing Co. when it owned Breckenridge, then transferred to Aspen Mountain, according to friends. He retired from the patrol in 2006. Brettmann turned 52 on Dec. 5.

Reported overdue Sunday

According to a timeline provided by the Skico, the Aspen Mountain Ski Patrol received a call at about 7 p.m. that Brettmann had not returned to his Old Snowmass home after a day of skiing on Aspen Mountain, and he couldn’t be reached by telephone.

A patroller checked to see if Brettmann had attended a memorial service held for Bryan Sax, an Aspen man killed last week in an airplane crash in Florida. Brettmann wasn’t located at the memorial so a full on-mountain search was started.

At about 8 p.m., a ski patrol team was dispatched to the Powerline area, where they found a single track heading into a 1-meter-deep avalanche crown face, the Skico statement says. The soft-slab avalanche ran down the left side of Powerline.

Brettmann was found at the bottom of the slide in debris. “Patrollers dug him out [but] found no pulse and no breathing,” the Skico statement says. “Trauma was a concern, and they started CPR.”

A second team with a patroller trained in advanced life support arrived on the scene and attempted to revive Brettmann for about one hour. After conferring with a doctor at the Aspen Valley Hospital emergency room, resuscitation efforts were halted, and the victim was pronounced dead.

Part of the Skico family

Brettmann’s death was particularly tough for veterans of the Aspen Skiing Co. because both Cory and his wife, Killeen, are longtime former employees of the company. Killeen was a former marketing and public relations executive.

“Cory and his wife Killeen were both part of the ASC family for many years,” says a statement by Skico President and Chief Executive Officer Mike Kaplan. “Cory began patrolling for Aspen Skiing Company in 1980 and only recently retired in 2006 to pursue a career in construction management. He left an indelible mark on the Aspen Mountain Patrol and continued to spend as many days as possible on the mountain that he loved.”

Kaplan called the news of Cory’s death “devastating.”

“We are all keeping Killeen and their two daughters in our thoughts and prayers,” he said.

The Brettmanns’ friends also were devastated by the loss of a man known for his “big bear hugs.”

High avalanche danger

The avalanche danger was rated “high” to “considerable” in the Aspen zone Sunday and Monday, and an avalanche watch was issued for Tuesday. McCall said there are dangerous avalanche conditions because of so much fresh snowfall on a “tender” base layer.

“If snowfall in the forecast materializes, then natural and human triggered avalanches will become likely,” McCall wrote in the forecast for the Aspen area on the CAIC website: http://avalanche.state.co.us/index.php. “Conditions in the backcountry are extremely tender. All slopes near and above 30 degrees should be avoided at this time.”

McCall said weaknesses in the snowpack will linger for some time. Early snow that fell weakened, then was covered by recent storms. Close to 2 feet of snow fell around Aspen and Snowmass last weekend, with 30 inches falling at Marble.

An observer saw one natural and several remotely triggered avalanches in the Richmond Ridge area Sunday, the CAIC website said. That is in the general vicinity where Brettmann was killed.

Powerline and another area known as Pandora’s are located on the east side of Richmond Ridge, just south of the upper terminal of the Silver Queen Gondola. They are within the Aspen Skiing Co.’s permit area with the U.S. Forest Service, but outside the official ski area boundary. The area isn’t patrolled. People regularly ski or ride the backcountry area and hook back into the ski area.

McCall said the high amount of skier and rider traffic that Powerline gets usually helps stabilize the terrain. However, early in the season it is just like any other backcountry area, he said.

There may be a false sense of security associated with the terrain because it is so close to the ski area.

“So many people ski that terrain without proper equipment and without partners,” McCall said.

scondon@aspentimes.com

Tuesday, Dec. 16 autopsy update

ASPEN — Former Aspen Skiing Co. ski patroller Cory Brettmann suffocated when he was buried in an avalanche Sunday off the back side of Aspen Mountain, according to the Pitkin County coroner.

Dr. J. Steve Ayers ruled Brettmann’s cause of death asphyxia with multiple traumatic injuries as a contributing factor, according to a brief press release sent out via e-mail in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.

Brettmann, 52, was buried in the avalanche and snow obstructed his airway, according to the press release. He also suffered “multiple blunt trauma” but those injuries were not fatal, according to Ayers.