Avalanche control is near constant work for ski patrol, no matter the time of year. In the warmer spring weather, the risk of wet loose avalanches mean even when there hasn’t been snow for a few weeks, patrol may still need to set of explosives in hopes of triggering a slide.
This avalanche in Highland Bowl at Aspen Highlands was filmed from the Sundeck Restaurant on Aspen Mountain, a pretty sweet place to watch ski patrol work go down. Based on images from the Aspen Mountain live camera, the slide occurred at some point between 2:40pm and 2:50pm.
As this appears to have been patrol work that triggered the slide, Highland Bowl was not open for skiing or snowboarding when it occurred. Given the debris and lack of quality snow, it seems highly unlikely that the bowl will open again before the end of the season.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center‘s forecast for Wednesday warned of wet loose avalanches that could pick up mass as they moved downhill, potentially triggering larger, more destructive wet slab avalanches.
