500 avalanches reported in February across Colorado with considerable danger going into the weekend
According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, in the last week there have been 185 avalanches reported across the state, with 500 reported avalanches so far in February. Most of the northern and central mountains are at considerable avalanche danger (level 3 of 5) heading into the weekend.
"Even though the chance of triggering an avalanche is slowly declining, the size and the consequence of these avalanches is what is keeping these avalanche dangers elevated," said Brain Lazar, Deputy Director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
According to the CAIC, most mountain areas in Colorado have had avalanche activity in the last week due to the warmer weather and a series of large storms has created unstable conditions.
To add to the dangerous conditions, Lazar says many signs of instability like big shooting cracks or rumbling collapses are disappearing.
"That makes it a little bit scary to move around the mountain right now because you might not see any signs of instability before you trigger a very large and deadly avalanche," he said.
February is historically the most dangerous month for avalanche activity in Colorado and according to the CAIC in the last week there have been:
- 8 separate avalanche accidents
- 12 people caught in moving debris
- 9 people buried
- 1 person injured
- 2 people killed
Colorado is expecting warmer-than-average temperatures this weekend and this could lead to an increase in wet avalanche activity. Similar to the wet slab avalanche that took place west of Crested Butte in the photo below.
If you do head to the backcountry, the CAIC recommends very conservative terrain choice and sticking to slopes less than 30 degrees. Anyone traveling in the backcountry should always carry proper safety gear, including an avalanche transceiver, probe and shovel, and know how to use those tools. Daily avalanche forecasts can be found at Avalanche.State.Co.us/