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1 Dies In Backcountry Avalanche South Of Telluride

TELLURIDE, Colo. (AP) -- A Colorado man has died in an avalanche on Ophir Pass, near Telluride.

San Miguel County Sheriff Bill Masters says the man was the first in a group of four skiers to head down a slope Friday afternoon when the others yelled that an avalanche was coming. They say the avalanche caught him just as he turned to look back.

Masters says the slide was about 1 mile long and 200 yards wide at the top.

The man was wearing a rescue beacon that helped the group find him under 7 feet snow, about 1,000 feet away from where they last saw him. He wasn't breathing and had no pulse. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Masters says the man was buried for at least 45 minutes.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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