Avalanches killed 37 backcountry travelers in the U.S. last winter, including 12 in Colorado. Analysis of each tragedy helps avalanche scientists craft warnings to reach more skiers and snowmobilers.
Colorado s 2020-21 avalanche season was tied for deadliest It s helping forecasters hone warnings – The Journal the-journal.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from the-journal.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A once-in-a-decade layer of rotten snow in the mountains combined with unprecedented traffic in the backcountry made the 2020-21 avalanche season the deadliest in many years.
The 37 deaths across the .
Alpine touring numbers climb at Maine ski areas
Only time will tell if the trend translates into more backcountry skiers in remote wilderness areas.
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Dan Elliott of Rumford uses Alpine touring equipment to travel up Rumford Whitecap before skiing down. Backcountry skiing has been growing in popularity, but skiers must be versed in wilderness survival skills and know how to survive in avalanche country.
Dan Elliott photo
More skiers are embracing uphill travel, also called Alpine touring, at Maine ski resorts – and more ski areas are catering to those who opt to hike up instead of take the chairlifts.
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This image provided by Colorado Avalanche Information Center shows an avalanche that killed an unidentified snowboarder on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021, near the town of Winter Park in Colorado.
The deaths of two Colorado men caught in avalanches and a third in Montana over the frigid Presidents Day weekend show how backcountry skiers and others in the Rocky Mountain wilderness risk triggering weak layers of snow that have created the most hazardous conditions in a decade, forecasters say.
At least 25 people have been killed in avalanches in the United States so far this year more than the 23 who died last winter. Typically, 27 people die in avalanches in the U.S. annually.