Backcountry
Avalanche
According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC), the state of Colorado saw over 1,100 avalanches in February. Only 204 of the recorded avalanches were caused by humans and 23 of them caught or carried at least one person. Unfortunately, there was one fatality for the month. 500 avalanches were considered large (D2), and 22 were very large (D3).
Four major storms lined up with avalanche cycles for the month. In early February, a one-to-two-foot storm buried weak layers in the snowpack from January and caused avalanches across the entire Rocky Mountains. Storm number two between February 6-9 brought two to four feet to the central and southern mountains with about a foot in the northern areas. On February 15, the third storm came from the atmospheric river event in California and dropped a foot of snow along with strong winds. Finally, on February 26, the southern and central mountains received another two to three feet of snow.
The one fatality, which was the second of the season, occurred on February 11, in the Anthracite Range. The avalanche danger was considerable and just the day prior had seen a snowboarder injured in a slide. A group of four highly trained and experienced skiers was out touring, and while going uphill, remotely triggered two avalanches without any consequences. They completed a run down and on their second lap, one skier was caught in a slide on his descent. He deployed his airbag and was carried over a cliff which triggered a second avalanche. His group located him 500 vertical feet from the original avalanche and used a satellite device to call for help. Unfortunately, he did not survive his injuries.
February had other close calls as well according to CAIC, including:
- February 7: Two people were hit and partially buried by an avalanche on Ski Hayden Peak west of Ashcroft. One of them was not carrying an avalanche transceiver, shovel, or probe. She was dug out by the other person, who spotted her ski sticking out of the snow. They returned to the trailhead on their own.
- February 8: A snowmobiler was caught and fully buried in an avalanche in Leroux Creek east of Grand Mesa. Two members of her party had completed avalanche rescue training and were able to rescue her and clear snow from her airway before lighting a fire nearby to warm her up.
- February 18: A group of five guided ski tourers, plus a guide, were caught in an avalanche in Commodore Basin, north of Red Mountain Pass. The avalanche was 250 feet wide and ran about 550 vertical feet. One person was fully buried and another was partially buried, but both made it out alive. Nobody was seriously injured.
With 602 avalanches in December and 1,882 in January, this brings the season total to 3,584 slides in Colorado this season. Last year the total number of avalanches reported was 5,818, with 122 people caught in the slides and 11 people killed in them. CAIC is urging backcountry travelers to plan for surprising avalanche behavior in March. There are still several persistent weak layers that have been difficult to manage. As the days get longer and many people step into larger terrain and bigger objectives, it will be important to check the forecast before heading out.
