SNOWMASS VILLAGE, Colo. - Investigators are headed to the site of Colorado's first avalanche death this season.

A member of Aspen Skiing Company's off-duty ski patrol died Sunday after an avalanche in a permanently closed area at the Snowmass ski area.

The 49-year-old was killed when the avalanche carried her over a cliff in the Ship's Prow Glades area.

A team from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center plans to visit the area Monday.

The avalanche danger is considerable in much of western Colorado after several rounds of storms.

That includes areas near Steamboat Springs, Aspen, Gunnison and in the San Juan and Sawatch mountains. The danger in the Front Range mountains is rated as moderate.

Last year's first death of seven came in January.