DENVER — On Saturday, a man was killed during an avalanche just east of Berthoud Pass on Mines Peak, in an area known as The Fingers or High Trail Cliffs. Family and friends identified the victim as Nathan Ginn, 50, an avid outdoorsman who was doing what he loved when he died.
CAIC forecasters were investigating at the avalanche site on Sunday, and plan to update the accident report in the coming days. There have been three people killed in Colorado avalanches so far this year, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC).
Close friends told Denver7 that Nathan — a husband, brother, and father originally from New Mexico — was an elementary school art teacher who was well known for his skilled river surfing and powsurfing.
Powsurfing is done on a combination of a snowboard and skateboard, which cruises downhill on snow without the use of bindings or a handle, according to Burton.
"A snow skate will turn a green run into a blue run, a blue run into a black run and a black run into sheer terror. Nathan was good at all those," his good friend David Riordon said. "It's more difficult. It's more challenging. It's just fun. And it feels free."
Riordon, who has known Nathan for roughly the last decade, said he was powsurfing when the avalanche struck.
"He wasn't snowboarding. He was powsurfing. And I know he's up there right now going 'David, tell them it's powsurfing and not snowboarding,'" Riordon said. "We're, you know, celebrating his life today. And crying about it too... At least he died doing what he loved doing."
Nathan was also a talented river surfer, Riordon said.
"He could do spins with the board, shove-its, skateboard tricks and types of stuff that would just blow people's minds," Riordon said. "He was always inviting and showing people how to do it, and then he would challenge people to get better and try different styles of river surfing."
Wherever Nathan went, his massive smile followed. Riordon said people were drawn to his personality, as someone who wanted everyone to have as much fun as possible with the sports that he loved.
"He leaves behind a community that is going to miss him, that he helped build," Riordon said.
Early on Sunday morning, Riordon wrote a blog post about Nathan at the request of Nathan's wife Carrie.
"Oh, that was tough," Riordon said with tears in his eyes.
The CAIC is investigating the avalanche that killed Nathan.
"Anytime that we see a dramatic change in the weather we're thinking about how that's going to affect the avalanche danger," the Director of CAIC Ethan Greene said. "We saw them release on layers of snow that were formed in January — and they're quite deep right now — because, like you were saying, we've had a fair amount of snow in February. And so these are pretty large and dangerous avalanches."
Greene continued to say it appears the avalanche on Berthoud Pass was triggered by Nathan.
"It looks like the gentleman that triggered this avalanche kind of came through the kind of rockiest area with trees just to the right of that open area, and triggered an avalanche that ran all the way through that open area and triggered a very large slide," Greene explained.
February is often the most dangerous month when it comes to avalanches in Colorado, according to Greene. Data compiled by the CAIC between 2005 and 2024 illustrates that trend, with the month of February being the only time period that has recorded more than 30 deaths.
Greene said with every avalanche incident, comes the opportunity to learn more about such events. On average, roughly six people have died every year in Colorado as a result of avalanches.
"We see peaks and valleys from year to year," Greene said. "The highest number that we're going to see in Colorado is around 12, the lowest number is going to be one, I believe. So, when we're dealing with those small numbers, those fluctuations make a big difference."
The avalanche forecast over the weekend was "considerable," which ranks as 3 out of 5 on CAIC's dangerous avalanche scale. Greene encouraged anyone heading out into the backcountry to check the avalanche forecast before doing so.
"That means that human-triggered avalanches are likely," Greene said. "We see most of the fatal accidents at those middle categories of moderate and considerable, or levels two and three... Those middle categories are the most dangerous categories for backcountry recreationalists."
Nathan's death is the second avalanche death in only three days in Colorado's mountains. On Thursday afternoon, a 41-year-old backcountry snowboarder was killed when she was caught up in an avalanche near Silverton.
The first avalanche-related death of the season happened in early January, when a skier was caught in a slide on Red Mountain Pass.
A different avalanche in Grand County on Saturday buried multiple snowmobilers earlier in the day. A group of people were riding snowmobiles on Gravel Mountain near Grand Lake when they triggered an avalanche. No one was seriously injured.
Riordon said Nathan had extensive avalanche training.
"He knew what he was doing. He had set his risk tolerance based on his life situation, and that risk tolerance may be higher than, say, somebody else," Riordon said. "We all make mistakes. We all do things, you know, if it's drive too fast or partake in something that maybe isn't the best for us, walking across the street against the red light, you know, we take that risk tolerance. But we can also learn from those situations, not only we as his friends, but the community at large — those who go into the backcountry."
Nathan took avalanche courses, specifically on Berthoud Pass, where he has ridden for the last three decades. The area played a large role in Nathan's life. In a text message, Nathan's wife Carrie told Denver7 their second date was hiking up to the Peter Rabbit Hut at Berthoud Pass — the same spot where Nathan proposed under a full moon a few years later.
Carrie said they were "soulmates from day one" when they met 15 years ago in February. The two grew "a deep spiritual connection with helping others" and creating their love of the outdoors together. Carrie finished by saying "I think we inspired people to take a closer look at how they love one another."
A GoFundMe is now supporting Nathan Ginn's family.
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