The mountains of Colorado saw a pretty large amount of snow late last week into last weekend, bringing some serious avalanche danger (CONSIDERABLE, or level 3 of 5) to the Northern and Central Mountains. While the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) releases warnings and forecasts in relation to these storms, accidents, like the one described below, are still very possible.
On Saturday, December 6th, a skier in Butler Gulch near Jones Pass remotely triggered an avalanche about 500 feet above him. The slide began small but then stepped down, eventually causing the entire slope to release to the ground. The avalanche slid for around 1,500 feet, covering two separate flat benches and into another gully further down.
Three skiers in another group who were ascending the same slope were caught in the slide. The first group quickly initiated a beacon search and made contact with the three skiers. No rescue efforts were necessary and everyone was fortunately okay.
This avalanche was one of several remotely triggered avalanches reported to CAIC throughout late last week. The organization is using this event as a reminder of how Persistent Slab avalanches break in surprising manners. More field reports and the current avalanche forecast are available here.
