Asheville Teen Visiting in Colorado Survives Avalanche

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (AP) — A teenager visiting Colorado for spring break says he and two friends were swept up in an inbounds avalanche while snowboarding at Breckenridge Ski Resort. 

Grant Shields, of Asheville, North Carolina, says he was on an expert run called Whale’s Tail when he heard a pop and saw a seam open in the snow Friday afternoon.

The 18-year-old says a wall of snow hit him and his friends, who were able to make swimming motions to stay on top of the slide.

Shields described the experience as “the scariest thing that ever happened to me.”

Resort spokeswoman Sara Lococo says no one was injured, and ski patrollers have been focused on snow safety, including in the area of the avalanche. The Summit Daily reports Lococo couldn’t yet say what triggered the slide.

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Avalanche on hwy in Colorado