Backcountry skier killed in northern Colorado avalanche

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) - A 29-year-old woman has died in an avalanche while skiing in the mountains of northern Colorado.

It's the first avalanche death recorded this season in Colorado, where communities along the Rocky Mountains have seen record or near-record snowfall since September.

The avalanche happened Sunday just north of Rocky Mountain National Park. The woman from Fort Collins was buried in the powerful slide, which officials say fell 500 vertical feet.

Authorities say the woman was not breathing when other skiers dug her out from the snow, and she was declared dead at the scene.

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