Photo: Climate.gov
According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, on average, one to two people have been caught in avalanches during the month of October over the past 10 years. Fall snow, of course, is shallow and susceptible to melting with no snowpack established. Add that to the eagerness of every skier and snowboarder this time of year and you have a recipe for unique avalanche risks.
And with the season’s first significant snowfall dumping over a foot of snow on part of the Centennial State this past weekend, the CAIC logged its first skier-caused avalanche. The slide happened on Silverton Mountain, where some of the heaviest snowfall had been predicted heading into the weekend. Sure enough, the area received nearly two feet of fresh snow prior to Sunday morning when the avalanche was triggered.
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“Minor whumphing and cracking was observed on skin track with noticeable difference in snow structure from temperature variation through the storm,” a report from the center reads. “Two skiers skied north facing ridge. Near Silverton Mountain’s grassy run. Half-way down, skier one dipped over convex rollover and saw cracking behind with moving snow. Skier one carried speed and skied in front of small slide. Skier two came to edge of convex rollover and triggered a secondary slide over the top of the first. Both skiers skied out safe.”
The aftermath of the slide. Photo: CAIC