Avalanches: 2000 - 2001
Fewer fatalities, but a lot of slides and close calls in Colorado this winter
Colorado is known for very high avalanche hazard. This winter saw the development of a particularly sketchy snowpack. Early season dumps were followed by a cold dry spell that built a substantial depth hoar layer. Later storms with high winds, as typical, deposited major wind slabs over this weak layer, and an active avalanche season resulted.
Colorado has a lot of winter backcountry users, many of them novices without the necessary skills and equipment; this combined with unstable weather patterns, helps make Colorado the state with the greatest historical avalanche risk in North America. Fortunately, Colorado avalanche fatalities actually declined per capita during the 1990's. This season (as of mid June 2001) saw 4 deaths, down from 8 last season.
Future trends, however, may not be so positive. There were many close calls this season that could as easily have been fatal, and the population of novice users will probably continue to grow. Details from this season's accidents are instructive. The following is summarized from Colorado Avalanche Information Center reports.
Early storms got the season off to a quick start. On November 4th, after 25 inches of snow and 4 days of wind, 3 skiers near Red Mountain Pass were caught in a slide but not injured.
Loveland Pass is a popular backcountry playground that provides easy access to avalanche terrain. In early December two tourists glissading down a slope above the road were caught in a small slide but were not buried. Further east, the following day two experienced skiers set off a 900 foot slide in Herman Gulch. One skier was caught, but escaped injury as she rode down on top of a block of snow.
On December 29th, the first fatality of the season occurred on South Diamond Peak near Cameron Pass. A solo backcountry snowboarder was buried in a slide that he apparently set off as he snowshoed up a gully. Two nearby observers just missed being caught in the slide. The rider was said to be experienced, but was nonetheless climbing a known slide path during a period rated as having considerable avalanche hazard.
A lack of snow in the mid-season may have kept people out of the backcountry, but by February winter resumed and slide activity picked up. An avalanche patroller writing on the February 12th said, "There have been so many close calls that I don't know where to start. Since last Thursday there have been 247 reported avalanches and 10 people reported caught in these avalanches. BUT, no one was killed."
On February 18th, a skier near Ohio Pass triggered a slide, was severely injured, and had to spend the night in a snow cave before rescue. On the 25th, two ski tourers in Peru Creek were caught, but not injured, as a natural avalanche slide down from the steep slopes above their trail. That same day, in the Ohio Pass area, a skier died from head injuries when a slide swept her into the trees. She was part of an experienced and equipped party. Avalanche conditions had been rated as moderate below treeline, and investigators next day found a relatively stable snowpack at the accident site. She triggered the slide as she skied over a short steep wind-loaded rollover on the slope.
On March 18th, one skier on Farewell Mountain near Steamboat Springs was buried and killed. The skier was considered experienced, and the group containing snowmobilers and skiers had beacons. Unfortunately the victim did not - he was buried for 3 hours before recovery. The party had skied the same slope earlier, presumably without encountering any warning signs.
The latest fatality of the season occurred on April 3rd to a solo snowmobiler on the west side of the 10 Mile Range. He was caught by the small slide while stuck in a gully trying to extract his machine. The previous week had seen 3 feet of snow followed by high winds, and 80 slides had been reported recently in the Summit County area. Stability tests showed easy failures. The rider was a guide for a local snowmobile tour operation.
So far, in North America there have been 33 deaths, and the season is not over. Spring is also an active avalanche time, as meltwater breaks the bonds in the snowpack and lubricates the rockfaces beneath. A late season avalanche was reported on the popular Dave's Wave at Loveland Pass, and a slide in Ten Mile Canyon just west of Frisco ran almost to I-70.
It is apparent that the body count this season could have been much higher, and the future trends are open to speculation. Though backcountry skiers overall seem to be getting safer, other expanding user groups may indeed increase the accident rates. Snowshoers, snowboarders, out-of-bounds resort skiers, and snowmobilers include many users without backcountry skills and those who are aggressively pushing into steep terrain. Most of the incidents involving these users could be avoided with basic knowledge and conservative behavior. Snowmobilers have now overtaken backcountry skiers as the user group at the greatest risk in the United States.
Experienced backcountry users know that you should get the proper instruction, use the right gear, travel with others, follow the avalanche bulletins, pay attention to local conditions and be careful!
The information for this article was obtained from the following websites: