Two avalanche deaths in Colorado on Sunday, Feb. 14 and a slide across U.S. Highway 50 on Monarch Pass last Saturday are tough reminders that Colorado’s snowpack is very unstable and in spots, deadly.
The deaths brought Colorado’s avalanche death toll to 10 for the 2020-2021 snow season. Colorado isn’t the only place seeing a spike in avalanche deaths; the U.S. reported 15 during the first week in February – the most who have died in avalanche incidents in that time frame since a 1910 slide on Stevens Pass in Washington, where 96 people perished.
A snowmobiler died west of Rollins Pass and east of Fraser on Sunday, after triggering a slide on east-facing terrain above treeline. “When the avalanche stopped, the snowmobiler was buried underneath his sled on Pumphouse Lake,” read the report from Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC).
On Sunday morning, a backcountry snowboarder was caught in a slide near Mount Trelease north of Loveland Pass. The tourer was traveling alone on a feature known as Pat’s Knob on an east-facing slope above treeline. Rescuers found the snowboarder partially buried, with a deployed avalanche bag.
This past Saturday, the slide on Monarch Pass stopped traffic in both directions at mile marker 205 while CDOT crews scrambled to clear the road. One vehicle was caught but its occupants were uninjured.
Forecasters say we can expect the remainder of the winter to remain dangerous when it comes to avalanches. The exceptionally weak snowpack is the worst in a decade, according to Ethan Greene, director of CAIC.
He says avalanches are wider and longer “and sometimes they’re running the full length of the avalanche path. This means the routes you’re used to taking may not keep you safe this year.”
This year’s weak snowpack is due to dry conditions in December and January, followed by storms that built thick slab layers on top of the unstable snow.
“Areas that slid earlier in the season are now reloaded and ready to avalanche again,” the site reported. “Obvious signs of instability such as cracking and collapsing might not be present, stability tests are not always reliable, and the poor structure of our snowpack is the trump card. The structure is prime for large and destructive avalanches that break wider than expected and pull out snow on lower-angle slopes. It is a good time to look at the bigger picture and avoid avalanche terrain instead of trying to thread the needle.”
“Every time that there’s an avalanche accident, it sends a ripple of grief through the community that we all love,” said Aaron Carlson, executive director of Friends of CAIC. “Let’s take a step back. Get the forecast and recognize that this season is more dangerous.”
Carlson said on the CAIC site that many of the people who have died this year were experienced backcountry travelers, as was the case in the Feb. 1 tragedy that buried and killed three Eagle County men who were on a hut trip, skiing in the Silverton area southeast of Ophir.
Three days later, a backcountry skier died in a slide in the East Vail backcountry.
Today, closer to Chaffee County, an avalanche watch is in effect for the Aspen, Gunnison and North San Juan Zones. A Special Avalanche Advisory is in effect for Colorado’s mountains through Monday evening, Feb. 15.
“The series of storms over the weekend produced heavy snowfall and strong winds that created sensitive avalanche conditions and a cycle of large natural avalanches,” according to CAIC’s forecasting site for Feb. 15. “Natural avalanches remain possible and human-triggered avalanches are likely across the Central Mountains. Expect changing conditions and the avalanche danger to rise as winds increase and snowfall returns later in the day.”
Planning to travel in the backcountry?
• Know Before You Go (KBYG) is a free avalanche awareness program that teaches the basics of how to avoid avalanches. You’ll want to learn more, but this is for starters: https://avalanche.state.co.us/education/caic-programs/know-before-you-go-colorado/
• Before you head out, know the conditions and have backup plans – which might include staying home. https://www.avalanche.state.co.us/
• Travel with other people, with the right avalanche gear and know how to use it. And remember, the best gear doesn’t stop an avalanche, it only helps others find you if you get caught.
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