Wolf Creek, CO Ski Patroller Dies in Avalanche on Tuesday At approximately 1:30 PM on the 4th of March 2014, a member of the Wolf Creek Ski Patrol perished in an avalanche while conducting research outside of the ski area boundary in Conejos County, Colorado. He was immediately extricated by his partner and a second team of two patrollers working in the same area. Resuscitative efforts were maintained as he was flown to Mercy Regional Medical Center. He was pronounced deceased at approximately 4:45 PM by attending physicians.We extend our sincere condolences to family and friends. – Colorado Avalanche Information Center […] Avalanche SnowBrains | March 6, 2014 0 Comments
5 Caught in Colorado Avalanche Yesterday | 1 Still Missing Five snowmobilers were trapped in an avalanche at 10,500 feet in southwestern Colorado yesterday. Four of the people caught were able to free themselves and are all in good condition. One snowmobiler is still trapped under the snow. It is unclear at this moment if any of these snowmobilers had avalanche equipment. The avalanche was reportedly 150 yards wide and ended in a funnel that left snow up to 30 feet deep. These snowmobilers were reportedly riding in the Sharkstooth area of the La Plata Mountains of Colorado when they avalanche struck. They’d ridden out from Mancos, CO and had ridden […] Avalanche SnowBrains | March 6, 2014 1 Comment
8-Foot-Deep Avalanche @ Snowbird Postpones Freeride World Tour The Freeride World Tour (FWT) can’t catch a break this year. The Revelstoke, B.C. stop was postponed 3 months in December due to high avy danger and low snow. The Fieberbrunn, Austria stop was moved last minute to Kappl, Austria due to extreme avalanche danger. The Kirkwood, CA stop was moved to Snowbird, Utah due to lack of snow. Now, the Snowbird stop has been postponed due to […] Avalanche SnowBrains | March 5, 2014 2 Comments
Snowboarder in Restricted Area Triggers Avalanche That Destroys 2 Homes, Buries 3 People in MT A Snowboarder riding in a restricted zone on Jumbo Mountain above Missoula, Montana triggered an avalanche on Friday that destroyed 2 homes and buried three people. An 8 year old boy was pulled from the snow 1 hour […] Avalanche SnowBrains | March 3, 2014 4 Comments
HUGE Stevens Pass, WA Avalanche From the Helicopter’s Perspective Stevens Pass just got 10 feet of snow in 10 days. The sent patrollers out in a heli to trigger some avalanches to make sure things were safe for skiers and riders. They triggered an enormous avalanche last week that tore down trees and made for a helluva show. This video gives us a little background on the avalanche and how it was triggered and shows us how it all looks from the helicopter’s perspective. […] Avalanche SnowBrains | March 2, 2014 1 Comment
Huge Avalanche @ Stevens Pass, WA Mowing Down Trees | VIDEO: Stevens Pass ski resort in Washington state just enjoyed its 2nd snowiest February in 50 years. All that snow brought high avalanche danger and the need for extensive avalanche control work. This video shows us a large avalanche triggered by an avalanche bomb at Stevens Pass. The avalanche comes down bringing direct hell to all in its path. As the avalanche comes down it simply […] Avalanche SnowBrains | February 28, 2014 3 Comments
VIDEO: 2-4 Foot Deep Avalanche in Vermont Backcountry | February 16th, 2014 On February 16th, 2014, a snowboarder triggered a 2-4 foot deep avalanche in Northern Vermont at an elevation of about 2,300 feet above sea level. The incline of this slope was 23-36 degrees. The aspect of the slope that avalanched was East to East Northeast. Many people don’t think about avalanches occurring on the east coast. It’s key […] Avalanche SnowBrains | February 21, 2014 0 Comments
Avalanche Death near Togwotee Pass, Wyoming on Tuesday A 26-year-old snowmobiler from Iowa died in an avalanche near Togwotee Pass in Northwest Wyoming on Tuesday, February 18th, 2014. This was the 2nd avalanche death in Wyoming this year and the 16 avalanche fatality this winter in the USA. “A snowmobiler triggering a slide on a south facing slope which failed on a faceted crust around 30 inches below the snow surface. He was buried roughly four feet deep, found with a beacon […] Avalanche SnowBrains | February 21, 2014 0 Comments
16 Avalanche Deaths in the USA in Past 60 Days The USA has experienced 16 avalanche deaths in the past 60 days. This is actually about average for this time of year, but it’s caught the attention of the nation. In the past few days, both the Chicago Times and USA Today have covered the seemingly large amount of avalanche deaths in the USA. The first avalanche deaths of the this winter occurred on December 26th, 2013 and the most recent occurred on February 18th, 2014. […] Avalanche SnowBrains | February 21, 2014 1 Comment
Huge Avalanche Cleared from Road to Valdez, AK On January 26th, 2014, an avalanche came down onto the only road connecting Valdez, AK to the rest of the world: the Richardson Highway. The avalanche was massive and stopped the Lowe river creating an enormous lake that was 60 feet deep and half a mile long. The Clean Up! How does a massive avalanche get cleaned up? Dozers, excavators, side dumps and lots of hard […] Avalanche SnowBrains | February 20, 2014 0 Comments
Veribier, Switzerland Avalanche Death Monday | 14th Avalanche Death in Switzerland This Winter A 21-year-old Swedish man was caught and killed in an avalanche out of bounds at Verbier ski resort, Switzerland on Monday afternoon. This avalanche occurred off the backside of the Mont Fort tram (the tram that accesses the highest point of the Verbier ski resort). The avalanche victim was skiing in the Cleuson area with 3 other Swedes when the […] Avalanche SnowBrains | February 19, 2014 0 Comments
Court Rules Inbounds Avalanches are Inherent Risk of Colorado Skiing Last Thursday, a Colorado court ruled that avalanches within ski resort boundaries are an inherent risk of skiing in Colorado. Furthermore, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled ski resorts do not have to warn skiers nor close runs, even avalanche risk is high. What does this mean? This means that ski resorts are essentially immune from being sued for claims related to avalanche related […] Avalanche SnowBrains | February 17, 2014 1 Comment
Avalanche Fatality in Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho on Sunday A fatal avalanche occurred in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho at 2pm on Sunday, February 16th, 2014. Four snowmobilers were buried in the avalanche and one was killed. It was a terrible avalanche week in North America last week with 2 avalanche deaths in Oregon, 2 avalanche deaths in Utah, 4 avalanche deaths in Colorado, and one avalanche death in British Columbia. 15 people have died in avalanches in the USA this winter. An avalanche in the Frenchman Creek drainage (northwest of Galena Summit) buried 4 snowmobilers on Sunday February […] Avalanche SnowBrains | February 17, 2014 1 Comment
Avalanche Death Near Revelstoke, B.C. Saturday A fatal avalanche occurred on Boulder Mountain near Revelstoke, British Columbia at 11:30am on Saturday. A second man was also caught in the avalanche and received non life threatening injuries. Both snowmobilers were carrying avalanche equipment. The avalanche danger on Saturday was rated at “High.” […] Avalanche SnowBrains | February 16, 2014 4 Comments
7 Caught, 3 Injured, 2 Killed at Independence Pass, Colorado Avalanche “Some of the avalanche activity that we’re seeing right now, particularly in the past couple of weeks across the state of Colorado, are as big as they’ve run in decades.” – Brian Lazar, deputy director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center Seven skiers were caught in an avalanche on Star Mountain on the east side of Independence […] Avalanche SnowBrains | February 16, 2014 2 Comments
5 Avalanches Kill 6 People in 4 Days in Oregon, Utah, Colorado The Western USA had a bad week with avalanches. Six people died in 5 different avalanches in Oregon, Utah, and Colorado between Saturday and Tuesday. This year, there have been 12 avalanche deaths in the USA, 6 of those happened in the past week. An avalanche in the wouth Wallowa Mountains near Cornucopia killed two cross-country skiers mid-day Tuesday. […] Avalanche SnowBrains | February 13, 2014 3 Comments
2nd Avalanche Death in 2 Days in Utah Utah just recorded their 1st and 2nd avalanche deaths for this winter in just two days; February 8th and 9th, 2014. Avalanche danger has been rated “Extreme” or “High” the past few days in Utah after a big storm dropped 33″ of snow at Alta ski resort, UT. The first avalanche fatality was a BYU student snowshoeing just south of Salt Lake Cit […]y in the American Fork Canyon on Saturday, February […] Avalanche SnowBrains | February 12, 2014 3 Comments
VIDEO: Valdez, AK = HUGE Avalanche & HUGE Clean Up Two weeks ago, an avalanche came down onto the only road connecting Valdez, AK to the rest of the world: the Richardson Highway. The avalanche was massive and stopped the Lowe river creating an enormous lake that was 60 feet deep and half a mile long. They’ve been cleaning this mess up for the past two weeks and they’ve got a lot left to do. The Clean Up! How does a massive avalanche get cleaned up? […] Avalanche SnowBrains | February 11, 2014 0 Comments
NOAA: “Avalanche Warning” for Wasatch Mountains in Utah The Utah Avalanche Center ranked avalanche danger in Utah at “High” above, near, and below tree line yesterday. It’s down from “Extreme” from two days ago. A girl was killed in an avalanche near Salt Lake City on Saturday. Please read this warning and we’d recommend staying out of the backcountry for a while. THIS AVALANCHE WARNING IS FOR ALL MOUNTAINS OF NORTHERN AND CENTRAL UTAH. THE LARGEST SNOWSTORM OF THE […] Avalanche SnowBrains | February 11, 2014 0 Comments
21-Year-Old BYU Student Killed in Avalanche Saturday in Utah A 21-year-old female Brigham Young University (BYU) studied was buried and killed by an avalanche on Saturday, February 8th, 2014. Avalanche danger was rated Extreme to High in Utah’s mountains on Sunday. She was snowshoeing with friends in a steep gully near Tibble […] Avalanche SnowBrains | February 10, 2014 2 Comments