Avalanches kill skier, snowmobiler in Rockies as dangerous snow conditions persist across the West

CRESTED BUTTE, Colo. (AP) — A backcountry skier and a snowmobiler are dead after separate avalanches in the Rocky Mountains. Dangerous snow conditions persist across much of the West. The skier was buried Sunday in an area locally known as “The Playground” near Crested Butte in southwest Colorado. In southern Wyoming, a snowmobiler died Friday after he and his partner triggered a slide in the Sierra Madre Range. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center says at least seven people have died in slides in the U.S. this winter. Avalanches kill about 30 people a year on average in the country.