Avalanche
13,198-foot Mountain Boy Peak experienced Colorado’s first avalanche of the season, as confirmed by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC). Situated south of Independence Pass, the avalanche was triggered on Sunday, 15th October 2023, below the peak’s ridge, with the area described as a north-facing gully on its NW Ridge.
“Cracking and minor collapsing while skinning up. Wind loaded slab on top of facets from late September/early October. Slide triggered just below the ridgeline and propogated ~100 yards across from the rocks the center of the gully. It then ran around 300 feet before coming to a stop. Debris were around 3-4 feet in depth approximately. Skier 2 was probing at snow depth just below the crest of the ridge, when they remotely triggered the slide with the crown being about 10 feet below Skier 2. Skier 1 observed from the skin track on a connected slope on the other side of the gully. Slope made a big “whoompf” and cracks shot across upon slide iniation. Some surface hoar observed as well.”
According to the CAIC, the avalanche slid on a northwest aspect, uncovering old faceted snow from early October, now covered by the recent storm slab from the past week.
The report, submitted by observer Paul K., recounted the incident taking place southeast of Aspen around 3 p.m. Remarkably, two skiers were present during the event, neither of whom was caught or injured. The avalanche, producing a distinctive ‘whoompf’ sound, spanned roughly 300 vertical feet with a breadth of 140 feet, leaving debris three to four feet deep.
“Skier 2 had reached the ridgeline and was probing in the north-facing slope, south of the saddle, just below the ridgeline. They remotely triggered the avalanche about 10 feet below them while Skier 1 was skinning up a NE aspect on the other side of the gully from the avalanche. The avalanche propagated approximately 100 yards across from the rocks on skiers’ right to the gully on skiers’ left. It then ran about 300 feet before stopping. The starting slope angle was around 38 degrees. It was remotely triggered from a 15-degree angle near the ridge top. The elevation of the crown was approximately 12,800 feet.”
CAIC classified the avalanche as R2/D1.5, indicating its relative size and potential to cause harm. The incident highlights the unpredictability of avalanches, even in early October. Last season witnessed 5,813 avalanches, resulting in 11 fatalities, surpassing the decade’s average. Last season, the first avalanche in Colorado was reported on October 2nd, 2022, and the first skier-triggered avalanche in Colorado was on October 27th, which also caught and carried a skier. The first fatality in the US was in Colorado on December 26th, 2022.
With this new season’s onset, CAIC underscores the importance of avalanche preparedness and training before venturing into snowy backcountry terrains.
