The massive storm system that swept Colorado this week dumping up to two feet of snow is over and skies are looking blue over the holiday weekend – but that doesn't mean you should head to the backcountry in search of powder, officials say.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center issued a stern warning yesterday highlighting the hazardous avalanche conditions that exist across the state.
"The avalanches are growing in size with avalanches large enough to bury, injure or kill a person," says CAIC Deputy Director Brian Lazar.
"More worrisome is that you can trigger these things now from a distance or from below."
The video, which you can watch below, shows a recent example from the Elk Mountains of an avalanche being triggered from a distance and breaking 1,000 feet wide – that's eight football pitches laid end to end.
"We need much wider buffers around avalanche terrain."
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With so much fresh stuff out there and the resorts busy for the holiday weekend, backcountry enthusiasts will be keen to get off the beaten path on skis or snowshoes and it's this, in addition to statewide persistent slab avalanche behavior, that Lazar says increases the danger.
"We need people to remember that although the peak of the avalanche instability has passed us, we've got very dangerous avalanche conditions going through the weekend," warns Lazar.
Avalanche safety
As we explain in our article on avalanche safety, avalanches can occur on any slope that is 30 degrees or more and is covered in snow and ice. Unstable snowpack is the most dangerous, meaning that the snow contains different layers of snow that vary in consistency, for example a layer of unconsolidated, loose snow topped by a thick, solid slab of ice.
Avalanches aren't just a concern for backcountry skiers and snowboarders – in January 2022, two Colorado snowshoers and their dog were killed by an avalanche in Summit County and in March of this year, a snowshoer was rescued after spending 20 minutes buried upside down in an avalanche on Canada's Mount Seymour.
For any backcountry travels into avalanche-prone terrain, you'll want to start with some avalanche training and acquire an avalanche beacon, shovel and probe. Avalanche beacons aren't cheap, but both the Mammut Barryvox and Black Diamond Recon X are among the more budget-friendly models and we rated them highly in our tests. It's also vital that you learn how to read an avalanche forecast.
