Colorado Forecasters Are "Very Concerned" About Avalanche Accidents This Weekend
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) is warning backcountry users that it is very concerned about the potential for avalanche accidents this weekend after a storm dumped feet of snow on mountains across the state.
In a news release, the organization’s director, Ethan Greene, referenced the fatal avalanche incidents in California and Utah earlier this week. The two states were also bombarded with snow and have seen elevated avalanche danger.
“Weather events move from west to east through the western United States, and avalanche accidents often follow a similar pattern. It has been snowing and blowing all week in Colorado,” Greene said.
According to the CAIC, about 70% of fatal avalanche accidents in the western United States occur within four days of a previous avalanche fatality.
The organization also said that approximately 80% of avalanche fatalities in Colorado happen when the avalanche danger is rated as “moderate” or “considerable”—level two and level three on the five-level North American Public Avalanche Danger Scale.
Colorado Avalanche Information Center
The organization noted that the new snow fell on weak layers in Colorado’s snowpack, which had formed during the repeated dry spells this winter. Human-triggered avalanches remain likely, could break between two and four-plus feet deep, and could be triggered from a distance, the CAIC said.
The warning comes amid a largely snowless Colorado ski season. While the ski story of this week has been one of fresh, welcome powder, that also means there’s pent-up demand from resort skiers and backcountry skiers alike.
Like similar groups in other states, the CAIC publishes avalanche forecasts on its website. Those can be found here.
This winter, there have been no avalanche fatalities in Colorado, per CAIC data. Across the U.S., there have been 16.
In Utah, a man died in an avalanche on Wednesday while snowmobiling with his son.
Near Truckee, California, a group of 15 skiers encountered an avalanche Tuesday morning, leaving eight dead and one missing. It marked California’s deadliest avalanche incident in modern history.
“We have the entire mountain community in our thoughts following the tragic avalanche near Truckee this week,” the CAIC wrote in a social media post afterwards. “Our hearts are with the survivors and the families and friends of those who were lost. We grieve with everyone impacted by this tragic accident.”