• A “whoomping” sound of air escaping below you
• Recent avalanche activity
• Trees are “flagged,” showing where a slide has knocked them over or stripped off all vegetation on the uphill side
The avalanche risk this year is driven by an underlying weak snowpack that can give way and lead to broad slides, sometimes hundreds of feet wide, Greene said. As snow builds on top of the underlying weak snow, it sets up conditions similar to building an apartment complex on a weak ground floor, and makes it easy for skiers and others to trigger slides, he said.
Friday through Monday, the state saw 214 avalanches, and 73 of them were triggered by humans. The conditions are not likely to improve until the spring, he said.
Credit: Colorado Avalanche Information Center
Officials are urging skiers to pay attention to forecasts after a series of avalanches killed three skiers in Colorado this weekend.
On Sunday, San Juan County Search and Rescue recovered the bodies of two skiers who were buried by the snow near Ophir Pass after they were caught in an avalanche, according to a report from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC). Get push notifications with news, features and more. + Follow
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The skiers, who authorities identified as Albert Perry, 55, and Dr. Jeff Paffendorf, 51, both of Durango, were reported overdue on Saturday after having planned to ski in an area known as the Battleship.
East Brunswick-raised doctor killed in Colorado avalanche Suzanne Russell, Bridgewater Courier News
EAST BRUNSWICK – Dr. Jeff Paffendorf, a Colorado anesthesiologist who grew up in East Brunswick, was one of two backcountry skiers killed in an avalanche in the Rockies last weekend.
Township Councilman Jim Wendell and Paffendorf, 52, grew up together in the Riva Avenue neighborhood. We were in school together since first grade, said Wendell. I knew him. We haven t been friendly over the years. I follow him on Facebook, but I ve known him since we were in first grade.
Wendell said members of the Farrington Heights community near Farrington Lake are shocked by Paffendorf s death
Dec 22, 2020, 6:00 am 7.7K Shares
Opus Hut, which is at 11,600 feet above Silverton, is the closest you’re going to get to a full-service refuge in the Pyrenees. (Brett Schrenkengost, provided by Opus Hut)
Skiers get all the love with hut trips. Users are quick to share which shelters have the best access to crazy lines and the best backcountry terrain. Or which huts you can link together into a long ski tour.
But Colorado has a lot of huts and shelters reachable by incredible and safe snowshoe hikes, with adjacent trails for shoeing, nearby slopes for world-class sledding, or even a sauna to relax in without being bombarded with a crowd of boozed-up, smelly ski bums (if that’s not your vibe).
Three skiers have been killed by avalanches in Colorado during an 'especially dangerous' time 790business.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from 790business.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.