Backcountry skiers trigger avalanche in Colorado
Nov. 20—A group of backcountry skiers triggered an avalanche near Vail Pass on Saturday, according to a report from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC).
The slide was reportedly triggered by a group of four skiers, and occurred near Uneva Peak.
"Skier 2 was caught, but skied out. Skier 1 was standing in the runout taking photos and was able to move before the debris reached him. Skiers 3 & 4 descended an adjacent slope after the slide," the CAIC report reads.
Avalanches are measured by their relative (R) size and destructive force(D) on a scale of 1-5. To put that in perspective, a level one destructive force avalanche (D1) is relatively harmless, a level two destructive force slide could bury or kill a person, level three could bury a car, level four could destroy a building, and level five could cause changes to the landscape.
CAIC has classified Saturday's avalanche as a R2 D1.5. Officials offered the following observations, based on the photos of the slide:
"One of the first things I see is the deep blue, alpine sky and soft, glittering snow. It was a beautiful day in the mountains with enjoyable riding conditions. There are subtle signs of wind-drifting along the ridgeline and in the mid-ground texture of the snow surface, but the winds were not so strong as to strip snow from the trees," CAIC officials said in a Facebook post.
"It does not take much wind to drift low-density snow, and the recent snow was just cohesive enough to avalanche. You can see where just the recent snow slid on layers of denser snow at the skier's entrance tracks on the looker's left of the image. Then the avalanche became larger as it broke into weak, faceted snow near the ground across the rocky portion of the chute. That denser, supportable snow under the fluff turned into the slab. The avalanche crown has characteristic height variations of wind-drifted snow, and you can see old drifts welded to the ground at the ridgeline. In the mid-ground, a crack has shot across the slope below the rocky knob," the post reads.
On the day the slide occurred, the avalanche risk for the area was moderate (2/5).
Those entering Colorado's backcountry this winter should have knowledge of avalanche risk mitigation. Bring avalanche safety gear when in avalanche terrain every time (with proper training) and always be aware of the risk before heading out. Visit the Colorado Avalanche Information Center website for more information and follow them on Instagram and other social media for regular updates (Friends of CAIC is also a helpful follow).
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