A backcountry skier was killed in an avalanche in Colorado on Christmas Eve – the state’s first avalanche death this season, a report said.

The man was skiing with a partner near Cameron Pass in Fort Collin when the tragedy struck at about 2 p.m., the Denver Post reported, citing the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

“The victim’s partner was able to locate him with a transceiver and probe pole and extricate him from the snow, but he did not survive,” according to the CAIC report.

The avalanche was estimated to be about 250-feet wide.

The victim was not immediately identified. His body was recovered by search and rescue personnel hours later.

Friday’s avalanche death came after Colorado recorded 12 such fatalities last ski season, according to state data.

With Post wires