Longmont family sues Boulder outdoor equipment maker in connection with 2019 avalanche death

BOULDER — The family of a deceased backcountry skier has named Boulder-based equipment maker Backcountry Access Inc. as a co-defendant in a wrongful death lawsuit connected to a family member’s 2019 avalanche death.

In the suit filed over the weekend in Boulder County District Court, the family of Peter Marshall alleged that in February 2019, staff at the Silverton Avalanche School failed to heed safety warnings and weather forecasts before leading a group of backcountry skiers to a portion of Red Mountain Pass where an avalanche was triggered during a safety course.

The others in the class were caught in the avalanche but were either unburied or partially buried in the snowfall. Marshall was the only fatality. He was 40.

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The suit alleges the Backcountry airbag that Marshall was wearing was defective and contributed to his death, and that the manufacturer ignored other trigger designs that were safer and more economically feasible than the system on Marshall’s bag.

The model of Marshall’s bag was recalled in 2013 due to a failure in the trigger assembly leading to the bag not inflating. 

In its report on the incident, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center said that the bag’s system was working properly and its trigger was out of the pack strap. However, it did not deploy during the incident.

That report also said the avalanche danger rating in the area at the time was at level 3 out of 5 due to a number of opportunities for persistent slab avalanches to trigger.

The suit seeks damages for the emotional pain and financial losses stemming from Marshall’s death. It also names Marshall’s instructor of the trip by name, along with a Seattle-based outdoor equipment provider and its private-equity firm investor.

The Silverton Avalanche School and Backcountry Access did not respond to requests for comment Thursday afternoon.

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