With 500 avalanches, 15 people caught in slides and 2 fatalities, February is shaping up to be a deadly month in Colorado’s backcountry
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center said that despite warming weather, avalanche conditions remain dangerous across the state
Colorado Avalanche Information Center/Courtesy photo
February has historically been the deadliest month for avalanches in Colorado, and with two fatal avalanches so far in February, “this month is proving to be not different,” according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
Since Valentine’s Day, Friday, Feb. 14, Colorado has seen more than 500 avalanches, nearly 70 very large avalanches big enough to kill someone and 15 people caught in avalanches, Colorado Avalanche Information Center public information officer Kelsy Been said.
There have been 64 avalanche reports submitted for Summit County’s region in February, according to Colorado Avalanche Information Center records, with two incidents that buried or partially buried a recreationist.
“We’re seeing an uptick in people triggering avalanches remotely, triggering avalanches without any signs of feedback,” Been said. “We’re seeing people trigger big avalanches on tracked out slopes. So you could be the third or the 10th person on a tracked out slope.”
The two fatal avalanches occurred at Mines Peak, east of Berthoud Pass, on Saturday, Feb. 22, and at Middle Fork of Mineral Creek near Silverton on Thursday, Feb. 20, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
A backcountry snowboarder was caught, buried and killed after triggering the large persistent slab avalanche at Mines Peak at an area known locally as The Fingers or High Trail Cliffs, Colorado avalanche officials wrote in a field report.
The avalanche in Mineral Creek drainage occurred at a terrain feature known locally as The Nose and a snowboarder was caught, buried and killed in the avalanche, according to a field report.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center said that in both fatal accidents, the avalanches broke several feet deep and spread wide across multiple terrain features.
There have also been a lot of close calls this month, including an avalanche that fully buried a snowmobiler for more than an hour, before search and rescue members helped locate and dig him out, Been said. She said that it was “pretty miraculous” that the individual caught in that avalanche survived for so long buried under the snow.
Avalanche conditions in much of Colorado, including in Summit County and on the Front Range, remained at considerable, Level 3 of 5, near and above treeline as of Monday, Feb. 24, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center forecast. The best way to avoid being caught in a large avalanche is to keep a “conservative mindset” and avoid steep avalanche terrain, the forecast states.
While avalanche forecasters had hoped that warming temperatures would quicken overall cohesion and stability in the snowpack, Been said that that has not been the case so far, and the snowpack has proven more problematic than forecasters had hoped.
Avalanche officials recommend anyone traveling in the backcountry check the forecast before heading out, carry an avalanche transceiver, probe and shovel, be trained to use that gear and travel with a partner who is carrying the same gear and is trained to use it. The latest avalanche forecast is available at Avalanche.state.co.us.
“What has been surprising to some of our forecasters was its been nice for a few days and we thought the warming temperatures would help settle the recent storm snow and improve stability,” Been said. “But we haven’t seen that yet. Whether or not we’ll see that turn later this week, we don’t yet.”
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