74 Human-Triggered Avalanches in Colorado in 6 Days | Extremely Weak Snowpack For Much of State Right Now

AvyBrains | | Post Tag for AvalancheAvalanche

 

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A post shared by Friends of CAIC (@friendsofcaic)

With much of the inter-mountain West being dry in regards to precipitation for the first part of this winter, snow instabilities have formed. The snowpack is weak in a lot of places—and dangerous. Especially in Colorado.

According to the Friends of the CAIC—a social media page associated with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center—there has been 74 human-triggered avalanches throughout Colorado in the last six days. Friends of the CAIC wrote in a social media post:

“Since Dec. 10, there have been 74 human-triggered avalanches. In many parts of the state, a slab sits over a very weak snowpack. These avalanche issues will not be going away anytime soon. Expect to be choosing your terrain carefully for a while.”

The snowpack is dangerous and unpredictable in Colorado right now, and with backcountry use surging in popularity this winter due to the pandemic, it’s a frightening picture. Weak snow + storms coming + a lot of backcountry users could equal disaster.

Although Utah has seen less human-triggered avalanches this winter than Colorado so far, its snowpack looks similar—weak and scary. Check out the video posted by a Utah Avalanche Center forecaster below from Dec. 2, which shows instabilities in the Wasatch snowpack.


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One thought on “74 Human-Triggered Avalanches in Colorado in 6 Days | Extremely Weak Snowpack For Much of State Right Now

  1. Tis the season…to get buried
    But really tho. You can just cut/paste this for every year around this date

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